coradenice
At the start of the movie, I was amazed by its bold and unique take on the legend of Hercules. The perspective from which the story was told is fairly nuanced and modern, insisting on the complexities of the immediate relationships between characters and their personal motivations throughout their interactions, rather than on their monumental proportions found in the original myths. Hercules, for instance, especially as portrayed in his teens, is such a refreshing, sweet boy compensating his feeling of loneliness and neglect with childish boasting. He appears far more human and familiar to us, with strong touches of self-doubt, clumsiness and endearing vulnerability. While still a boy, all he wishes is to be noticed and valued in equal terms with his half-brother. Therefore, he often takes foolish actions of so-called bravery and fails lamentably. Yes, he's someone any human being can identify with. Also, I liked the character of Deianeira, who is stronger in this directorial vision than the pale, innocent maiden in the myth, but also very feminine and helpful in responding to Herc's questions and concerns. What also captivated me was her particular knowledge of rituals, and her sad comment on how they degenerate in the hands of man and lose authenticity and spiritual meaning. It was clever and relevant for the way people have progressively lost ties with the sacred. Alcmena, too, is a very strong and complex character, and it was interesting to observe her relationship with her husband and the opposition between the two supreme gods each of them believed in, Zeus and Hera, which their marriage both entailed, and stood as a symbol for, at the same time. However, she later is pictured as closer to Satanism when desperately trying to kill her son, which is way too histrionic. Also, we see at first the passionate love between Alcmena and Amphitryon, then the twists and cracks in their relationship as they worship rival gods and relate in opposite ways to son Hercules, but we don't see her reaction, her grief when he dies, which is a huge flaw, as this detail is essential to shed further light on the dynamics of their feelings and bring them to an explicit climax and conclusion. And although it appealed to me in the first forty five minutes, it somehow got lost in the process, in very poor shooting and dialog and in far-fetched, overly dramatic and unconvincing acting. Most actors were far too exaggerated and insubstantial, Paul "Hercules" Telfel above all. From a certain point on, I was under the impression that the film had become a playground for kids who wanted to play roles from the movies. The best acting is provided by Timothy Dalton and Elizabeth Perkins, the two jewels that almost validate this flick. Too bad, with such an approach and a much better director, better-chosen actors, and more focus on particular details that were ignored or in disproportion throughout the movie, it might have actually been great.
billardman85-1
The mini series Hercules on the SciFi channel was O.K. . The actors and actresses were fabulous; but the one thing I was was hoping for when I read the tittle was that they where finally going to show a movie with all twelve of the labors being done and completed but it wasn't. I wish some day they would create a movie that would have the person portraying the legendary hero Hercules to perform all 12 labors, that would be great; especially with today's computer graphics they could make it a really great movie. The one thing I also didn't not like is how they portrayed Herculess' power they mad him seem like a regular guy but truly he was suppose to much more when it came to his strength. For example when it came to when he was a teenager and tried to lift his mentor he couldn't.
PopcornLovesMovie
The problem with this movie is that it is trying to compile a 6+ hours movie into 2 hours. The result is clear. It seems too forced, unclear and too simple minded.The only plus side is the beginning. It explains well why and how Hercules was born. The rest of the movie was...just mumbo jumbo that is put together. It has a potential to be a great movie like LOTR if only it is not forced into 2 hours.The acting is not very convincing either. OK not all is bad. But most of them are. Special effects are stupid and look like it is made ten years earlier (although the 1st monster is pretty good) Overall, I give it 4 out of ten for the reasons I described above.
ShadowKeeper
Eh. I watch this movie in class because someone taped it and brought it in. I was expecting some half hearted attempt to portray the Herakles myths, and because the commercials for it looked serious, I was expecting something that was halfway decent.Ten minutes into the film, I realized that it was utter CRAP. The only things in the film that are halfway true to the myth are the bare(and I mean bare) minimum. Parents, half brother, and labors seemed to be named correctly. Other than that, the rest of the film seemed to be one giant inaccuracy. I would say that this was not much better than the Disney version of the film. The Disney version was made for little kids, therefore wasn't too serious. This movie, with all the sex, violence, and nudity, was clearly intended for an older audience, yet the story presented in this was nearly inaccurate as the Disney film.
