 |
| Should have just been called 'A day in the life of The Rock' |
There's only one way I can explain Hercules as a movie.
Think of a roller coaster. Now when I see a roller coaster, I always think 'oh damn! that sure looks like fun! I better gather my friends and take a ride on that thing and experience some thrills!'. So I get some friends who may be roller coaster fans and ride the damn thing. During the ride, I'll be having a ton of fun, and shortly after the ride, I'll be laughing about it, talking about my favorite parts with my friends and so on. But not long after that, I'll start to forget about my experience with the roller coaster, because in the end that's all it was, short-term entertainment.
This is precisely how I would explain Hercules.
You see, Hercules is just that. Short-term fun and only something you should experience with a group of friends who will be just as entertained as you are at the premise of watching The Rock smash some guys with his fists.
I went into Hercules with some pretty low expectations, expecting the movie to be bad in terms of story, acting, special effects...But I did expect it to be a fun film. Something I could sit back and enjoy without having to really think.
Hercules delivers on that front.
So the film's story isn't all that bad, in fact it's quite typical. Everything about it is incredibly average. Seriously, everything from plot, character archetypes, villains was incredibly average and typical. You could easily tell what was going to happen purely because it's a formulaic movie. However, something that I will give credit to the film for is it's consistency, especially when it came to Hercules as a character.
Hercules is Hercules, the Greek hero of mythology. However, the film takes a different spin on the myth (primarily because it's based off of a Graphic Novel) in that it wasn't JUST Hercules that managed to accomplish his labors, but a team of loyal companions that support him throughout his journey. Hercules is also mortal, he is no son of Zeus, but thanks to the stories told about him, his legend grew and spread across the land making it seem like he was a son of a god. There are also references to the real myth of Hercules, in that the murder of his family is used, the assassination attempt by Hera with two snakes and much more. It's sort of like a fan service film for anyone that likes the Hercules myth.
But like I said, Hercules is a mortal man, and his character is consistent throughout the film. He is an honorable man that is haunted by his past. There is no half handed romance either, something I can appreciate and possibly the one thing that was atypical about the film. It fits well with Hercules' character, specifically because he loves his family so much that he's not willing to move on with another woman (not much of a spoiler, they've been dead for a while).
Speaking of Hercules as a character, there is still some truth to the legend in that whenever he's on screen, fighting, that's where I get the most enjoyment out of the film. Nothing beats watching Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson kick some ass in the most ridiculous and over the top ways. While Hercules is portrayed to be just a mortal, it's like seeing how Batman is just a man, but at the peak of human physical strength and ability.
I also appreciated how there was a recurring theme of the power of story-telling, specifically in the way that myths were handled throughout the film. As speculation goes in real life, ancient Greece believed that the Cyclops was a real creature based on how an elephant skull looked. Myths are born through story-telling, similar to how the myth of Hercules is told throughout the film by his nephew, over-selling his adventures and accomplishments. We're shown how if you can tell a story with enough gusto, with enough passion, it will eventually become life, passed down throughout the generations. Centaurs, Hydras, Nemean Lions, etc are all born out of stories told by 'eye-witness' accounts. But in reality, the Centaurs are just men on horses at very specific angles, and so on and so forth. It was interesting to see how the film took these myths and put some sort of reality into it. It's not how the trailers made it seem that we'd be watching the actually mythology of Hercules, fighting fantastical beasts and creatures of legend. Hercules is just a man.
Now I've already mentioned how average the movie is. It does nothing special to make it stand out among other films of this breed. It's so formulaic that within the first 30 minutes you can instantly tell that where the movie will go. You can even tell what certain characters will do before they even do it.
Let's make a checklist shall we?
Hero of legend is a super nice guy who trains an army with a short montage.
His friends are typical archetypes:
A strong silent type with a mysterious past.
A wise cracking, longtime friend.
A strong female companion who just happens to excel with archery (or any other character that excels with archery)
A sage-like character who provides insight for the main hero.
A weak character who wants to do more than just be held back.
These are VERY typical. In fact, I could tell instantly that because Hercules and his companions are mercenaries, at least ONE of them will decide that money is more important than camaraderie, leave, but then show up again. At least ONE of them will die in a 'tragic' but heroic death. At least ONE of them will provide some comedy, making him the character you want to live. The list goes on.
The movie is so formulaic that as soon as the supposed villain is captured you immediately think 'well, it's only been an hour, there's no way he's the REAL villain'. In fact, you'd be right! the real villains will reveal themselves and it just brings up even more questions about the villains and their incompetence.
Perhaps the reason why Hercules' myth is so powerful is because everyone and everything he fights just happens to be complete idiots with no real plan.
Now, I've mentioned consistency with Hercules as a character, and I stand by this statement. Hercules is the one character who stays consistent throughout the film. The villains however, do not. Why does the main villain suddenly change his demeanor once it's revealed that he's a bad guy all along? He starts off as this trust worthy, noble character, but suddenly he's this typical Saturday morning cartoon villain with an even more typical 'evil' plot. Ruling one place isn't enough....HE NEEDS IT ALL!
In the end, Hercules was entertaining. It's the kind of movie you should watch with a group of friends at home during a comfy night in. But it's nothing special. While credit should go where credit is due, the film handles the myth of Hercules, the character of Hercules, and the concept of story-telling very well. Everything else though is easily forgotten.
Except for when Hercules does something incredibly epic and stupidly awesome. That stuff will stick in your head for a while.
Verdict:
3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment