TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
A clumsy reinterpretation of the demi-God
The word âclumsyâ is probably the best word to describe Brett Ratnerâs movie adaptation of the ancient Greco-Roman demi-God Hercules
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
The word 'clumsy' is probably the best word to describe Brett Ratner's movie adaptation of the ancient Greco-Roman demi-God Hercules.
Hercules offers an interesting perspective on reinterpreting the mythology that has been passed down for generations. It could have been the greatest Hercules movie adaptation as it tries to humanize him. However, there is always that 'hole' that Ratner leaves, which ruins this whole new reinterpretation of the epic.
The movie follows the events of the 12 labors -- a famous epic in the Greco-Roman mythology in which Hercules (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) must complete 12 tasks to purify the wrath of Hera.
If you are unfamiliar with Greco-Roman myths, here's a little background on why Hera hates Hercules so much. He reminds her of Zeus' love affair with a woman. Zeus, the king God of Olympus and the husband of the Goddess queen Hera, slept with a mortal woman who later gave birth to Hercules.
There are many versions of the epic ' some begin with Hera driving Hercules mad to kill his own wife and children, even after he completed the 12 labors for king Eurystheus to deal with his past.
Either way, the epic basically tells a tragic story of a man with tremendous power who ends up with nothing but madness.
In the movie, after completing the 12 labors, Hercules becomes a leader of a mercenary group.
His group consists of fortune teller Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), a spartan by the name of Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), a beasty warrior called Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), an Amazon heroine Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and his nephew Iolaus (Reece Ritchie).
After saving Iolaus from a band of thugs, Hercules and his men are approached by princess Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson), who pleads with them to help her father, the king of Thrace, Lord Cotys (John Hurt), in the war against a bloodthirsty warlord, Rheseus (Tobias Santelmann).
Hercules is initially reluctant to accept Ergenia's offer but once he hears he is going to be paid in gold in the weight of his own body, he then agrees to assist Lord Cotys.
In Thrace, Hercules sees a kingdom filled with hungry and despairing people. The army are low in numbers and therefore, merchants and farmers arm themselves to anticipate Rheseus' invasion.
By the request of Lord Cotys, Hercules and his men agree to train the people of Thrace in the art of war from the scratch.
Before the farmers and merchants become a fully functioning war machine, a scout informs Lord Cotys and Hercules that Rheseus' army is on the move.
Lord Cotys wants Rheseus -- a warlord who is said by Lord Cotys to have the black magic ability to turn friends into enemies and to employ beasts and centaurs as his soldiers -- to be intercepted as soon as possible and Hercules and his men reluctantly agree.
Watching the film becomes unbearable. Ratner has made the movie so awfully corny with dry humor, CGI animations that look similar to those used in early 2000 movies, lame sentimental moments between Hercules and Ergenia's son and over-the-top machismo coming from his band of mercenaries. No wonder that Alan Moore, a legendary comic artis, describes this movie as 'wretched'.
There is another story behind Moore's negative sentiments toward the movie, which is adapted from graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian War written by the late Steve Moore (no blood relationship with Alan).
He considers it as wretched as he feels that Radical, the comic publisher, and Ratner do not honor a previous agreement with Steve to not have his name featured in the movie. Steve felt the movie adaptation and Radical's take on Hercules as a 's****y idiotic' work.
Radical still put Steve's name on the movie promo material to gain the hype of the fans following his death.
While Moore's disgust of the movie might be based on his solidarity with his fellow comic artist, it is fair to say the description he uses rings some truths until Hercules beats the living hell of Rheseus and saves Thrace from the advancing warlord.
After Rheseus is defeated, the movie gets good.
A sudden twist of plot emerges and audience begin to grasp the meaning behind Iolaus' endless speeches of the greatness of Hercules. Characters' pasts begin to show up and the man behind the imagery of the strong demi-God called Hercules slowly creeps up as well.
It is unfortunate that Ratner is only able to deliver an excellent reinterpretation of Hercules so late in the movie since he has so much to exploit ' he has The Rock, who was probably born to play Hercules.
The Rock is not just muscular and big, but he is also one of few professional wrestlers who can actually act and entertain.
Ratner also had great graphic novel work to be used as a basis for this movie but failed to liven it up to its full glory.
He has an awesome template of the tragic story of a humanized Hercules but turns this interesting concept into nothing but an extended version of Hercules TV series, which was played by Kevin Sorbo in the late 1990s.
In conclusion, you will not miss much if you fail to watch the movie, now in theaters, unless you're a geek fan of the myth or simply love The Rock himself.
