Hercules Review: An Interesting Re-Introduction of a Classic Superhero

2014's Hercules was a much needed breath of fresh air for the Greek mythology film genre considering where we recently left off with the recent Clash of the Titans movies. Not to sound too overly dramatic or anything, but I almost lost hope in this particular genre as I was beginning to feel as though filmmakers in this day and age would rather put 90% of their focus on spectacle over story. And where that might seem fine and dandy for some moviegoers, these types of epic tales tend to work more effectively as a perfect marriage of both strong storytelling and fantastical scope with not one side of the spectrum overpowering the other. Yes, Hercules does indeed present a great sense of fun and action at times, but it's only ever placed to serve the narrative or enhance the atmosphere of this universe.

Something that this movie did that was a pleasant surprise for me was the big twist that the writers did on the iconic story of this character. We live in a world of visual FX technology today where anyone with the right amount of resources can throw together a movie about the son of Zeus battling mystical creatures and easily delivering on the expected "cool factor". What I really appreciated about this new adaptation of the legendary hero tale is the refreshing and equally interesting spin that they placed on the writing itself. We're introduced to this massive, powerful man with a mighty force of strength that would put fear in the eyes of his enemies known to the world as Hercules (played exceptionally well by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). But instead of having him fly solo on his journey, he is accompanied by his fellow band of skilled mercenaries. Even though this isn't the first time we've gotten this type of group dynamic in terms of mercenaries showing off their unique skills while being entertaining to watch, this is the first time in quite some time that I actually found the characters themselves to be really fascinating to a degree.

Each member of our ensemble of "heroes" felt like they carried their own engaging solo story that we were never given the opportunity to full see, but was somewhat teased by. In other titles with this similar "band of killers" concept, most of the characters would seem rather one dimensional and would have to be completely over the top in performance simply to gain the attention of the audience. This is what makes Hercules such a delightful rare case where I was completely onboard with each member of our central team primarily because I genuinely wanted to learn more about their history and how they ended up traveling on dangerous ventures with the titular legendary hero. One of these characters being Lolaus (Hercules' nephew), positioned as the in-universe storyteller who speaks of the various tales surrounding his uncle to the world during their travels. Only, and here's where the interesting misdirect comes in, his stories would be exaggerated versions of what actually happened.

One example is of Hercules slaying the mythological beast known as the Hydra which turned out to be a much smaller and less threatening obstacle. I absolutely loved this creative approach taken. The idea of Hercules being this mere mortal constantly facing challenges and never fully being confirmed as a god-like being is such a potential-rich and fun idea. As a viewer, there were clear cut moments where the movie basically placed a spotlight on his supernatural strength, but to the characters around him for the majority of the runtime, there were always scenes establishing another angle of speculation. I really enjoyed this back and forth direction of Hercules fulfilling certain deeds that his mercenary partners would aid him with and his nephew would completely inflate and overemphasize the revolving story claiming to be the power of the Gods on display.

This creative sensibility lays out a bread crumb trail of fun perspective shifting that leads to the movie's most memorable and powerful moments where Hercules' prophet companion, Amphiarus, encourages him to rise above any skepticism and insecurities. Amphiarus tells him to believe in himself as he and everyone else around him has which causes Hercules to fully embrace his true strength and break the chains that were strapped around his arms. The moment where he yells "I am Hercules!" can be seen in probably every single piece of marketing for the movie, but is no less powerful when the actual scene plays out. As a matter of fact, I admittedly had legitimate goosebumps after the scene was over. There's something primordially awe-inspiring and eternally chills inducing about a hero finally realizing his full potential and believing in himself leading to his victory over the greater evil.

It's one of the more dramatically impactful components in superhero type properties such as Keanu Reeves' Neo from the first Matrix movie finally seeing that he is indeed "The One" or Superman finally dawning the cape and flying for the first time discovering his potential. We are fully onboard with this archetypal character cheering them on as the face off against their daring trials ahead. The reason why many of us watch movies like these is not only for the entertainment value, but the inspiring vicarious feeling of being a superhero ourselves and what it would take to become such a thing taking on the many challenges in our day to day lives. This is why origin stories can be just as amazing as the epic finale that follows if done effectively. Casting is of course extremely important in presenting our hero in question which is why I have to give a lot of props to Dwayne Johnson who was able to deliver a captivating performance as Hercules.

Another great thing to point out here is that, within this epic tale, lies the tragic story of Hercules' family (the more darker corner of the narrative). There's a great scene where we see him beginning to hallucinate the torturing imagery of his wife and kids getting slaughtered and then facing the three headed Cerberus. What makes this positively stand out for me was that, not only did it appeal to me as a gamer (reference to my love for the God of War video game series and seeing a Greek mythology creature brought to life), but I was also intrigued to see what revelation would come out of the Cerberus nightmare. Keeping the movie's perspective shifting of what's fantastical and what's real in context, there was something fun about the mystery of what this three headed monster would potentially be revealed as being.

Now, I've spent the majority of this review focusing heavily on the character and storytelling, but let's not forget that this is indeed an action-adventure movie at its core. So, speaking on the expected scenes of violence circling around Hercules, they definitely held nothing back in portraying these highly trained killers slice and shoot their way through waves of soldiers. We get quite the handful of brutal moments showcasing Hercules swinging his mighty club or punching the life of whatever poor helpless enemy crosses his path. They really do stretch that PG-13 rating which I very much appreciated. In the end, 2014's Hercules adaptation is a very well crafted movie presenting audiences with both an interesting character story and a satisfying helping of entertaining action. In a world filled with superhero and comic book properties being the biggest blockbuster events of the decade, this movie certainly fits the bill in that department reintroducing one of the most legendary superheroes of all time.

Rating: 8/10