THE LEGEND OF HERCULES

US, 2014, 99 minutes, Colour.
Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne Mc Kee, Liam Garrigan, Liam Mc Intyre, Rade Serbedzija, Jonathon Schaech.
Directed by Renny Harlin.

The Legend of Hercules would have to be one of the films that has received the worst reviews ever, unanimously. It is really not worth seeing. The producers mistimed the making of this film because Brett Ratner’s Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson, was released soon after too much better reviews, not only because of the screen personality of Johnson but also for a very strong British supporting cast as well as action scenes and special effects.

Kellan Lutz, one of the actors in the Twilight series, plays Hercules with a certain amount of earnestness. Gaia Weiss is the Princess with whom he is in love. Rade Serbedzija is the wise man, Chiron.

The film starts with battles in Argos, 12,000 BC, a vengeful King defeating the King of Argos in single combat with tens of thousands of extras (computer-generated) as the supporting armies. In fact, computer generation seems to be the important thing with this film, the colour photography, reminiscent of the 300 films looks quite stylised in texture and the images are often those of the computer games rather than of films. This gives the film a rather comic-book look, let alone the performances and the dialogue.

There is an explanation of the conception and birth of Hercules, the the announcing of Zeus’ wanting to mate with the Queen and his wife, Hera, acting as a mediator. (This annunciation and the birth of Hercules are a touch reminiscent of the gospel stories of the annunciation to Mary.) As Hercules grows, he is exiled and brought up in another kingdom, with a brother as rival, falling in love with the Princess. When Hercules discovers the truth about himself and the various missions he is to accomplish, he is torn between the Princess and his sense of duty, opting for the sense of duty.

Many viewers complained that much of the plot is similar to that of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, a hero sold into slavery, emerging from slavery, combating and vanquishing all his foes.

The film was made in Eastern Europe for budget sake, relies so much on computer-generated extras and action, has fairly basic dialogue, and does not really do justice to the legend of Hercules, his hero status as the son of Zeus, his achievements.

Finnish director, Renny Harlin, has worked in Hollywood for a quarter of a century, making films in the Die Hard franchise as well as Nightmare on Elm Street. Other films include The Long Kiss Good night, Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island.

Better to see Ratner’s version with Dwayne Johnson.