Dwayne Johnson of 'The fast and furious' fame playing the role of the mighty Hercules---this very fact meant that the film had an air of frivolousness in it....
....For Dwayne certainly has the body of a Hercules , but does he have the seriousness in his acting and the intensity to carry out the role of the legendary Greek mythical hero ?? In my opinion---no .
But so what.....He certainly has the capacity to deliver some entertainment , and he does that....
The film starts when the legend of Hercules has already been created , and he is a great hero credited with godly powers---for he is not only supposed to be son of Zeus but also has won many a famous victory .
He and his companions are approached by the beautiful queen Ergenia to save her kingdom from a warlord threatening it , and the queen also promises Hercules a princely sum of money to save her kingdom .
Hercules and his companions have the task of training the peasant army of Ergenia's kingdom ahead of them , and the even more difficult task is to take this newly trained army to great victories in the battlefield .
But there is an even more grim aspect to the situation---Hercules' wife and children have been killed and the blame for this has been laid at Hercules' door . And he has recurrent visions of this---of his wife and kids getting killed and a three headed wolf attacking him....
So can Hercules and his band of warriors lead the newly trained peasant army to victory ??
And is he really responsible for the murder of his wife and children ??
What twists does the story have in store for us ??---for the people involved in the story are not what they seem to be at the start....
Does he get the money he has been promised , and does he want to keep it when the story and the characters take a new turn ??
Watch the movie for the answers....
The strong point of the movie lies in the finely crafted and well photographed battle sequences between rival armies---of phalanxes of soldiers arrayed in battle formation and attacking each other in disciplined manner ; of arrows fired at long distance accurately finding their targets ; of the hard striking of sword against shield ; of blood flowing freely as arms legs and heads are cut off ; and of rousing speeches being given on the battlefield to enthuse the soldiers....
Long range aerial shots of whole armies are shown , and modern 3D effects enhance the pleasure of viewing them .
But then the director makes some of the characters mouth funny dialogues , thus reducing the seriousness of the proceedings---an intense film it is not.....
In fact there is an atmosphere of self mocking humour in the film , as if the director does not want us to take the film too seriously....
The possibility of a romantic angle to the film was not explored at all . That disappointed me---because I thought that in the character of Ergenia there was a vulnerable and beautiful woman who had lost her husband and who needed a man , and in the character of Hercules there was a strong man who had lost his wife and children and therefore needed the emotional support of a woman....but it was not to be....
Dwayne Johnson's acting has neither passion nor real emotion , but he has his own style and that fits well into the self mocking tone of the film . Hercules is shown to be stripped of his Godlike status in the film---seemingly reduced to a human .He has to find reserves in his humanity rather than his godlike capabilities in order to face the odds against him .
And the odds against him consist not only of the demons of his own past haunting him , but also turncoat characters and ferocious animals as well as well armed armies .
The barbarians shown in the film reminded me of muslims , with heads and cheeks shaven and long beards coming out of their chins in the manner some true believers keep it . Also their weapons are exactly crescent shaped---all harking to the peaceful faith.....or am I the only one thinking that way ?
I though the wolves were powerfully pictured , looking all too ferocious especially while tearing apart Hercules' flesh .
What the film lacks is some real raw emotion , but makes up for the lack of that by showcasing some well crafted action .
And Dwayne Johnson is no Sylvester Stallone , while Hercules does not quite match up to Rambo . But he will make do for the moment.....
If I was a Greek ( especially in these harsh economic times for Greece ) I would be proud of the amount of films ( like 'Troy' '300' etc ) that are made by non Greeks on heroes of Greek culture . Let the saga of Achilles and Hercules and Alexander and Troy and Sparta and Maccedon roll on celluloid.....
Verdict---Entertaining stuff .
....For Dwayne certainly has the body of a Hercules , but does he have the seriousness in his acting and the intensity to carry out the role of the legendary Greek mythical hero ?? In my opinion---no .
But so what.....He certainly has the capacity to deliver some entertainment , and he does that....
The film starts when the legend of Hercules has already been created , and he is a great hero credited with godly powers---for he is not only supposed to be son of Zeus but also has won many a famous victory .
He and his companions are approached by the beautiful queen Ergenia to save her kingdom from a warlord threatening it , and the queen also promises Hercules a princely sum of money to save her kingdom .
Hercules and his companions have the task of training the peasant army of Ergenia's kingdom ahead of them , and the even more difficult task is to take this newly trained army to great victories in the battlefield .
But there is an even more grim aspect to the situation---Hercules' wife and children have been killed and the blame for this has been laid at Hercules' door . And he has recurrent visions of this---of his wife and kids getting killed and a three headed wolf attacking him....
So can Hercules and his band of warriors lead the newly trained peasant army to victory ??
And is he really responsible for the murder of his wife and children ??
What twists does the story have in store for us ??---for the people involved in the story are not what they seem to be at the start....
Does he get the money he has been promised , and does he want to keep it when the story and the characters take a new turn ??
Watch the movie for the answers....
The strong point of the movie lies in the finely crafted and well photographed battle sequences between rival armies---of phalanxes of soldiers arrayed in battle formation and attacking each other in disciplined manner ; of arrows fired at long distance accurately finding their targets ; of the hard striking of sword against shield ; of blood flowing freely as arms legs and heads are cut off ; and of rousing speeches being given on the battlefield to enthuse the soldiers....
Long range aerial shots of whole armies are shown , and modern 3D effects enhance the pleasure of viewing them .
But then the director makes some of the characters mouth funny dialogues , thus reducing the seriousness of the proceedings---an intense film it is not.....
In fact there is an atmosphere of self mocking humour in the film , as if the director does not want us to take the film too seriously....
The possibility of a romantic angle to the film was not explored at all . That disappointed me---because I thought that in the character of Ergenia there was a vulnerable and beautiful woman who had lost her husband and who needed a man , and in the character of Hercules there was a strong man who had lost his wife and children and therefore needed the emotional support of a woman....but it was not to be....
Dwayne Johnson's acting has neither passion nor real emotion , but he has his own style and that fits well into the self mocking tone of the film . Hercules is shown to be stripped of his Godlike status in the film---seemingly reduced to a human .He has to find reserves in his humanity rather than his godlike capabilities in order to face the odds against him .
And the odds against him consist not only of the demons of his own past haunting him , but also turncoat characters and ferocious animals as well as well armed armies .
The barbarians shown in the film reminded me of muslims , with heads and cheeks shaven and long beards coming out of their chins in the manner some true believers keep it . Also their weapons are exactly crescent shaped---all harking to the peaceful faith.....or am I the only one thinking that way ?
I though the wolves were powerfully pictured , looking all too ferocious especially while tearing apart Hercules' flesh .
What the film lacks is some real raw emotion , but makes up for the lack of that by showcasing some well crafted action .
And Dwayne Johnson is no Sylvester Stallone , while Hercules does not quite match up to Rambo . But he will make do for the moment.....
If I was a Greek ( especially in these harsh economic times for Greece ) I would be proud of the amount of films ( like 'Troy' '300' etc ) that are made by non Greeks on heroes of Greek culture . Let the saga of Achilles and Hercules and Alexander and Troy and Sparta and Maccedon roll on celluloid.....
Verdict---Entertaining stuff .
