Ercole e la regina di Lidia

but not at the level of the original 1958 film also starring Steve Reeves in the lead role.

Still this does deliver some good thrills such as Hercules battling the giant Antaeus (Primo Carnera), trying to escape the influence of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez who I feel was truly bewitching in the role), tangling with deadly tigers and finally trying to rescue his lovely bride Iole (Sylva Koscina) from the crazed Eteocles all while trying to stop his homeland of Thebes from descending into war.

The middle portion of the film which has Hercules under the spell of Queen Omphale once his memory has been wiped away by the waters of forgetfulness is a bit slow but is still fun...fun adventure not to be taken too seriously is how I'd describe this one.

Laughing heartily in the face of danger, Steve Reeves leads the way in Hercules: Unchained, a film about just how much tail you can get with a good beard. Okay, so there's a story about two sassy brothers' fight over a kingdom, a random encounter with the son of the Earth god and waters of forgetfulness... great. The real story here: oiled-up men in loincloths having their way with giggling servant girls. This movie jam packed with servant girls running from Herc and Ulysses down stairs, around corners and pretty much any direction that shows off the goods. As if that wasn't enough to get you totally pumped about this movie while cleaning the house... fake tigers! If you're a fan of fake tigers in fake tiger fights... you'll need to rent this one soon. Mostly though, its about the servant girls. 8 out of 10.

There was only one Hercules, and he wasn't from Mt. Olympus, he was from California, and his name was Steve! This movie proves it. Actually, it's a little better than his original flick, "Hercules". It's more polished, and has a little more action, but then, that's not saying much. It might have been exciting back in 1959 to see some guy pick up a tree, but the modern special effects fests have eclipsed it. Any kid interested in seeing fighting musclemen today wouldn't watch this, they'd be watching Smackdown or whatever it is. WWF. WWE. I don't know. Anyway, they'd rather see Rick Flair and John Cena insult each other.

But hey! I liked it, because I think Steve Reeves was cool! He looked the part with his beard. And he had some build, better than all the musclemen that followed, better than the bodybuilders today. This was his last good film. For all the others, he shaved off his beard and journeyed to strange places, like Russia and India. He should have stayed in ancient Greece.

If your a retro person, you would love this. I dig the retro dancing Greek island chicks. I dig the fake tigers. I dig the chariots, I dig Steve beating up the world's heavyweight champ. You might find other things to dig, so pay homage to old Steve Hercules Reeves himself. He might have been governor of California too.

This film is a nice sequel to Francisci's gem "Hercules," the film that launched a seven-year festival of swords, sandals, cloaks, daggers, musclemen, and gorgeous women in the Italian cinema. In this sequel, Mario Bava returns as the FX man, and dazzles us with an array of visual effects which impart to this film an almost Hollywood-like sensationalism. The problem is, there is too much of it! After the first 30 minutes or so, the stuff tired me, sheerly through the fact that my mind ceased to remain in the elevated state necessary to appreciate and "roll with" what the director wanted to achieve visually. So there were alternate periods of depression and elevation, although the film, when viewed as a whole, must be one of the most stunning sword-and-sandals of all time. In this respect, Pietro Francisci did well. However, I still prefer the first entry to this one.

These movies starring Steve Reeves wouldn't have worked if it weren't for his presence.

This is one of less spectacular out of all the movies Steve Reeves have starred in. But Steve Reeves still looks good as Hercules, and he's the best actor to play this role in my opinion. Production is lavish with beautiful casts, and studio settings. It's probably best not to think too hard about the whys and why nots of the story, as the movie is more about physical beauty of the casts that are involved. In this regard, this is one of the best movie ever created. People back then seems to be more gorgeous than people in the movies today.

Watch this movie for its stunningly beautiful casts. You will not be disappointed.