In the summer of 2014, we were treated to not one but two Hercules movies. The Legend of Hercules, which I haven’t seen but I assume should never be watched by anyone, lest we end up with an Ark of the Covenant situation, and Brett Ratner’s Hercules (2014), which can’t possibly be worse than the first one. Now normally I’m a big fan of avoiding anything involving Ratner (the first Rush hour being the exception) but this film also happens to involve that exploding supernova of charisma that is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as well as master thespians Ian McShane and John Hurt making it just tantalizing enough to fall into that grey area that makes you ask Worth It?
Full discloser I did not realize going into this film that it’s based on a specific graphic novel (Hercules: The Thracian Wars) and not just a general reboot of everyone’s favorite Greek demigod. Being the gigantic comic book nerd I am that is a bit embarrassing. My ignorance resulted in a large amount of confusion and derision concerning the plot of this film that may not have existed if I’d known what I was in for.
Basically, we follow Hercules and his band of mercenaries as they get drawn into a civil war in Thrace. Hercules status as a demigod is left ambiguous and it is strongly hinted that many of his feats of bravery were both completed with help and the subject of hyperbolic reimagining. But Hercules is still stronger than pretty much every other human ever and a pretty badass warrior, son of a god or not.
This mythological revisionism should open the door for some cool character development and inventive action sequences. Unfortunately, the script and Ratner only seem interested in the latter which is really too bad as it leads to not enough of an Ian McShane who looks like he’s having fun and too much of John Hurt who looks like the shittiness of his dialogue is going to make his head explode.
At the end of the day, Hercules is an action film starring The Rock. It’s better than The Scorpion King and Journey into the Center of the Earth 2 but not as good as Fast and the Furious 6. Take from that what you will. If you have an open mind, are into action films, and like to see new takes on old stories than you should check this film out. If cheesy dialogue, senseless violence, and glaring plot holes drive you nuts then you should probably stay away.
So is Hercules (2014) Worth It? Honestly, I’m still not entirely sure. I’m going to go ahead and say yes and know that a good thirty percent of you are going to hate me for it.