Hercules (2014)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 98 minutes
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell, Ian McShane, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Aksel Hennie, Reece Ritchie, Rebecca Ferguson, Joseph Fiennes, Steve Peacocke, Peter Mullan, Irina Shayk
KRS Releasing Ltd
Former wrestler Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, has over the years shown he is also capable of acting and that life beyond the ring can be quite fruitful. Here he delivers a performance that is a throwback to his loincloth days of The Scorpion King (2002).
The film is a well-honed exercise in popcorn entertainment that besides presenting Dwayne Johnson as the central action hero, provides a strong supporting cast and debunks all we know or think we know about the Greek demigod.
Brett Ratner’s film is based on the comic books by the late Steve Moore. Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) is here seen as a mercenary, who also has a past that is like a chip on his shoulder. He has been exiled from Athens and has with him a band of fighters/ companions: Autoclyus (Rufus Sewell), who is very adept with knives; soothsayer Amphiaraus (Ian McShane); Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdall), who is very good with a bow; orphan Tydeus (Aksel Hennie) and Iolaus (Reece Ritchie), his young cousin. Greece’s merry band of mercenaries is celebrating after their latest bout with pirates.
That is when Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson), the daughter to the Cotys, the King of Thrace (John Hurt), finds them. Thrace is facing off against a rebel army led by Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann) and so, in exchange for double his weight in gold, Hercules agrees to train Thrace’s army against Rhesus.
While deeply edged in mythology, the film is not really about mythology but more about its debunking. Ratner for once shows he can be an economical director: he briefly gives us all we need to know about the characters and setting and simply moves on to the next sequence. At the same time, he seems to be aware of all the sword- and-sandals epics featuring Hercules and thus he focuses his direction on Johnson.
With some cool editing, he keeps the story well paced.
As always, Johnson seems to act best when he lets his physical presence do the speaking. He delivers a likeable core to the movie and is helped in no small way by his supporting cast, especially McShane and Hurt, who add credibility to his role and the film overall.
The result is a film that is not a sword-and-sandals epic in the same way that Gladiator was; it has other objectives: tongue-in-cheek popcorn entertainment that emerges as a sinful delight.
Add to this some well-jammed action set pieces that will thrill Johnson fans. Packed with enough special effects (including Johnson’s muscles!) and the right touch of sarcasm, Hercules is actually a pleasant affair.