The Legend of Hercules

Absolutely Average and Below in Every Way, this by the Numbers Filmmaking from a Very Inconsistent Director is so Unremarkable that it Barely Exists and is in Danger of Fading from Memory So Fast that the Mythology of Hercules is Safe.

This is Not Awful, Not Good, Not Much of Anything. It just Sort of Lies there with Nothing to Say, Attract Attention or be Concerned About. The Acting is Across the Board Boring. The Story is Unfaithful to its Source Material and the Story being Told is so Familiar and Stale that even Youngsters will be Disappointed.

It is Disposable and Dull with that Old PG-13 Curse of Banality and Yawn Inducing Action Scenes (that are worse when dealing with swords, spears, and Gladiator type mayhem) that the Battles are Rendered War Weary from the Outset.

Overall, Not the Worst Thing ever, but if You are Going to Watch it, do it Soon before it Ceases to Exist like the Pools of Sweat from a Strenuous Workout.

The Legend of Hercules is one of two Hercules movies in 2014, the other one is set for release in July starring Dwayne Johnson and Directed by Brett Ratner. And I gotta say, after seeing this movie, I'm really looking forward to the Brett Ratner version, and that's saying something.

Where do I begin? The acting is hilariously awful (Kellan Lutz and the villains especially). The romance is laughable. The fight scenes are a total rip off of 300 and Gladiator, with obnoxious slow-mo being used every 10 seconds. And for a movie with a budget of $70 million, it looks cheap.

The Legend of Hercules has some of the worst production values I've ever seen in a film. The costumes look noticeably cheap, The props are low rent, The green screen effects are amateurish. The 3D conversion is even worse. And the CGI looks worse than an Asylum movie.

Final Verdict: Unless you're watching for a cheap laugh, you should avoid this stinker like the plague.

This wasn't a terrible movie, I kind of enjoyed it. It's like a mixture of 300 and gladiator. I don't get all the bad reviews. If you like a good action flick I would say watch this.

Hercules is not entirely a disaster, as one might expect. A low-budget PG-13 adaptation of 300-style movies made in Bulgaria, this movie is in line with the expectations on what Renny Harlin is capable of.

While not being a disaster on a whole, it's a disaster in parts. The special effects, while being descent 3D images at times, are badly connected with live shots. There are many moments when perspective of such sequences is distorted in really obvious (and unintentionally funny) ways. There are numerous anachronisms. Characters use costumes and jewelry that could not be available in ancient Greece. Screenplay, while not being completely absurd, has some rather awkward dialog lines and unexplainable plot moments.

Unfortunately, the movie is not a Hercules legend but rather a shallow love story and family drama. There's even a bathing scene in a romantic- looking pond with flowers under a waterfall (the water in the pond is so dirty though that one can only feel pity for the actors). There are no heroic deeds of Hercules depicted in this movie.

One last blow for Hercules is PG-13 rating. There's no blood at all. When swords pierce bodies, they re-appear absolutely clean. When one of the characters was struck in the neck, the next shot showed his neck without a sign of a would or even a drop of blood. One of the few things the movie managed to deliver were some dynamic battle sequences; but PG- 13 made them look fake. In the age of 300 and Spartacus TV show, this is not something you want to waste your time on.

Unless you wish to add to a surprising $8 mln box office success after its first weekend, which will probably make this movie more profitable than most other current releases.

Step aside, Kevin Sorbo, we have a new man for the role of Hercules and his name is Kellan Lutz. If you have no idea who Mr Lutz is, check out his appearances in the Twilight instalments.

Anyway back to The Legend of Hercules. As the title suggests, this is an origin story that sets up the demigod character. Despised by his father King Amphitryon (Scott Adkins) since the day he was born, Hercules - the son of Zeus and Queen Alcmene (Roxanne McKee) - is sent to war after failing to elope with his true love, Princess Hebe (Gaia Weiss). King Amphitryon favors his elder son, Iphicles (Liam Garrigan); unfortunately he is not warrior material let alone lead a kingdom and winning the heart of Princess Hebe. As fate would have it, Hercules survived the war and returns to reclaim his love and kingdom from the wrath of King Amphitryon.

The poster reads From the director of Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2 - it's unfortunate they forgot to add in the fact that both were movies from more than twenty years ago, and Renny Harlin's directing career has long been sunk by a certain Cutthroat Island. Let's face it; The Legend of Hercules isn't going to resurrect Harlin's status in Hollywood anytime soon.

While similarly themed movies such as 300, Immortals and Clash of the Titans are known more for their visual aesthetics than storytelling, The Legend of Hercules failed miserably on both accounts. Filmed entirely in Eastern Europe because of cheaper costs and taxes, Harlin's movie mimics the feel and look of its predecessors while pretending to strip down to the grittiness of that era. However every single set piece looks like a cheap knock-off, right down to the CG extensions - case in point, one seriously fake looking puppeteer lion looks even worse than that in cable series Spartacus and Rome.

Written by at least four credited writers (one of them from the terrible Conan the Barbarian remake and Harlin himself), it is such a shame that the supposedly mythology-inspired story instead resembles Ridley Scott's Gladiator more than anything - if you recall, Maximus, was also betrayed and sold to slavery but made a comeback for revenge. We didn't realize that the legendary Greek hero Hercules actually ventures on the same path until now.

Unimaginative plotting aside, the movie suffers from incredible clunky, modernized dialogue peppered with a variety of British and American accents and awful delivery from the actors. With the exception of McKee and Adkins (surprisingly turning in a solid performance), most of the cast members - especially Lutz - needs to sign up for advanced acting classes. Minus off all the disemboweling, limb and head severing and bloodshed you normally would have expect from such a theme (an obvious attempt to lure in younger audiences), The Legend of Hercules quickly dissolves into a predictable yawn fest.

It's a tad disappointing that a movie about a demigod with incredible strength fares without emotion and plays like generally a mere paint-by- number adventure. Comparing to the 1997 animated feature by Disney, this one is hardly worth the time.