Hercules

Mythology, Greek gods, and mayhem. Like other films that have these ingredients in them that we've seen in the past, "Hercules" certainly carries on these traits plus more. Whether or not mythology is your 'bag' or not, this incarnation of this bigger-than-life character is more human-like than his predecessors which make for an even more approachable Hercules.

Fourteen hundred years BCE, a tormented soul walked the earth that was neither man nor god. Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) was the powerful son of the god king Zeus, for this he received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous labours and the loss of his wife and children, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods finding his only solace in bloody battle. Over the years he warmed to the company of six similar souls, Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), Atalanta (Ingrid Bolso Berdal), Iolaus (Reece Ritchie), Hercules' nephew, Tydeus (Aksel Hennie) and Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson), their only bond being their love of fighting and the presence of death. These men and women never question where they go to fight or why or whom, just how much they will be paid. Now the King of Trace (Greece), Eurystheus (Joseph Fiennes) has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. It is time for this bunch of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen when they must train an army, belonging to Lord Cotys (John Hurt), to become as ruthless and blood thirsty as their reputation has become.

Others to round out the cast are Tobias Santelmann as Rhesus, Peter Mullan as Sitacles, Isaac Andrews as Arius, Joe Anderson as Phineus, Stephen Peacocke as Stephanos, Nicholas Moss as Demetrius and Robert Whitelock as Nicolaus.

This was directed we effective delineation by Brett Ratner ("Money Talks" '97, "Rush Hour" '98, "The Family Man" 2000, "Rush Hour 2" '01, "Red Dragon" '02, "After the Sunset" '04, "X-Men: The Last Stand" '06, "Rush Hour 3" '07, "Tower Heist" '11) plus TV. His films may or may not be quality films, if you will, but one aspect I must admire about this filmmaker is the ability to direct just about any genre. A lot of directors have the tendency to gravitate to a certain genre-- being their safe zone, but it is refreshing to witness a director that's willing to think outside the box. Kudos to this guy!. It was adequately written by Ryan J. Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos based on the Radical comic "Hercules" by Steve Moore. Even though there were a few slow spots in the story, it's an interesting background story of the legend and Johnson definitely gave this character the human element that is so needed in order for the audience to be able to empathize with certain aspects of his life--makes him more real. Would be interesting to see where he and his 'team' would have ended up, but if the film makes a truck load of money, undoubtedly there will be a sequel. Cha-ching!

As aforementioned, one doesn't have to be a mythology affictionato to really be into this--of course it would help, but with the ever-present good vs. evil concept, Johnson's bigger-than-life presence, and amazing visual effects all in an IMAX and 3D format, break out the popcorn and enjoy.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                              Rated: PG-13                                98mins.