Hercules

It was a great mini series with the flavor of Clash of the Titans. The CG was just enough to force you to use a little imagination which I loved. The issue I have is that I liked it so much that I went and bought it at my local video store only to find that it was not the entire movie. It had been edited for time and unfortunately ruined the experience. It felt like a nonstop marathon because it was so fast. Additionally, the DVD showed that it contained the full frame version, which it did not and subtitles, which it did not.

Check out the Sci Fi channel for showings.

Love this movie.

I love Greek Mythology and this saga did a good job bringing the hero Hercules to life. The scenery, costumes and actors were great(even the children). Others have complained about the special effects, but this was made for family entertainment. The sex, violence and gore were just at the correct rating. Hercules was a welcome relief in the fantasy genre from the usual "dribble" on T.V. What ruined the overall story-line were two things: -Too many commercials -The original version got cut by over an hour. Perhaps the additional footage would have held the continuity of the film better in spite of all the commercial interruptions. I hope Hallmark will issue the DVD in its uncut, original version.

Okay, I was never good with mythology. So you could have told me any version of a story, and I'd listen. My only other exposure to this tale was the Disney animated version, of the late 1990's. And THAT is flawed, too, as I have read.

Watched it with my eight and eleven year old daughters, who are also fans of the animated tale. Both of them seemed very interested in the story. They recognized Dalton, as Daddy is a big Bond fan, and Astin, from "Lord of The Rings". So we know they are paying attention. Neither asked "why is this different from the cartoon", so I'll assume they could follow the plot and it's difference from the Disney flick.

+++++Possible Spoilers+++++ Now, to the show, itself. It dragged in some parts, I admit. The SFX, at times looked really, really cheesy. Now, perhaps that was a desired effect, to "enhance" the mythology side of the story. Lele Sobieski was beautiful, and I can see Paul Telfer going on to bigger and "hunkier" roles. All the actors were well used.

The Hydra scene was a bit much for being shown BEFORE 9 pm Eastern time, and I was surprised at how graphic it was. I figured the networks saved the really heavy duty "death" for after most of the younger crowd is off to bed.

Final score: On a scale of 1 yawn being Excellent, and five yawns being "Glitter" rotten, I give "Hercules" one and a half yawns. I didn't hate myself for watching it, but won't catch it again, if it gets repeated.

And did I say Lele Sobieski is beautiful????

My guess would be this was originally going to be at least two parts, and thus at least a quarter longer, because otherwise how can one explain its confused, abbreviated storyline. I was never completely lost, but I was often partially lost and usually unclear on character motivation. The movie feels as though joining plot points were dropped to squeeze it into its time slot.

If it were longer, it might make more sense, but it still wouldn't be much good. The movie's most interesting idea is of the war between Zeus and Hera as being a war between the male and female, but the movie drops the ball on this, making Hera's followers fairly horrible while not being clear on what Zeus' followers do or believe. The movie is also interesting because you don't see the gods and there's no real certainty that they exist. So it's got a couple of intriguing ideas, but it doesn't do anything useful with them.

Bad dialog, cardboard characters, and one interesting scene involving Hercules and his three antagonistic sons. Not unwatchable but also not worth watching.

Not as bad as I anticipated. This frequently felt like the matinée movies of my youth with Steve Reeves et al, although a bit bloodier (but not necessarily more violent, however) and, unfortunately, talkier. OTOH there was a more interesting use of sexual politics, IMO a plus.

Judicious use of the mute button would solve the latter problem and make for a fun popcorn movie. Some might call the SFX cheesy - for me they were a nostalgic reminder. There was some abrupt, seemingly abbreviated, editing from time to time. I wonder if we might see an (as they used to say) European version on DVD? (Hey, that beats calling it the much overused "Unrated".)