Hercules seems to be all the rage right now in entertainment circles (or maybe it is just Greek Myths that are popular. The muscle-bound demigod has been showing up in BBC's Atlantis TV show as an overweight slightly cowardly man trying to pump his own notoriety to two films that seem to follow the traditional myth more closely, Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson and The Legend of Hercules starring Kellan Lutz. Last night my wife and I "watched" The Legend of Hercules. Going in to the film, my wife stated that we would probably be done in about 30 minutes as we tend to turn off movies we aren't enjoying without finishing them. Surprisingly, we made it through the whole film. It may be that our own running commentary about the plot, characters, story and flaws that kept us interested when the movie alone might not.
In some respects, The Legend of Hercules follows a lot of the mythical stories of Heracles (the greek name for Hercules). They get the name of his mother, father and brother right and even give us one of the twelve labors, slaying of the Nemean Lion. Where it goes a little askew is by making this more a story of a queen's (Alcmene) interest in stopping her power-mad husband (Amphitryon) by seeking support from the gods. Hera, the goddess, grants Alcmene's wish by allowing Zeus to sleep with her and make her pregnant, leading to the birth of Hercules. In The Legend of Hercules, Amphitryon knows that Hercules (called Alcides) isn't his son and even worse, Hercules happens to love the woman that Amphitryon has decided his true son, Iphicles, will marry. So Amphitryon decides to send Hercules to Egypt where he will conveniently die. That is the first 30 minutes of the movie.
The last hour is the rest of the story with Hercules seeking to get some payback. All well and good, nothing spectacular in the plot department, but not horrible either. Where I think things derail a bit is in the choices of the crew. What we get is 300-esque fight scenes (and actor body-types causing my wife to ask if she could stop to do some laundry on those boys) sometimes seemingly mixed with the blue light effects of Twilight. The film is obviously made for 3D with arrows and other items flying out at you from time to time. Probably the biggest nit to pick is that there is nothing redeeming in the character of Iphicles (the brother). Where Hercules is tan, muscular, shirtless, moral, good, etc., etc., etc. While Iphicles is dark haired, pale, never shirtless, a bit whiny, simpering, and petty. Yes, I know we need to have our bad guys look obviously bad and our good guys squeaky clean, but at least take a book from Thor and realize that it doesn't have to be that way. I mean, Loki looked like a bad guy, but he wasn't incompetent and was even a bit sympathetic. Having Iphicles be almost as good as Hercules but always a step behind might have made the movie more interesting.
At any rate, if you like to chat during a movie and make fun of what you are seeing, then The Legend of Hercules will be easy pickings for you. Now we just have to wait for The Rock's Hercules later this year. The Legend of Hercules gets 2 Mick Happies. Prepare to mock if you watch.
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