HERCULES (2014) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

hercules (2014) movie

Genre              |   Fantasy Adventure

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   98 minutes

Released         |   25 July 2014

cast

Dwayne Johnson ... Hercules
Ian McShane ... Amphiaraus
John Hurt ... Lord Cotys
Rufus Sewell ... Autolycus
Joseph Fiennes ... King Eurystheus
​Rebecca Ferguson ... Ergenia

director

Brett Ratner

writer

​Ryan J. Condal ... (screenplay by) and
Evan Spiliotopoulos ... (screenplay by)
 
Steve Moore ... (based on Radical Comics' "Hercules" by)

cinematographer

​Dante Spinotti ... director of photography

music

​Fernando Velázquez
Johannes Vogel ... score composer

film editor

​Mark Helfrich
Julia Wong

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box office result

Worldwide               $244,819,862  

Australia                 $​7,623,857 ​

North America        $​​​​​​​​​​72,688,614

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movie minuitae

​This film is based on the Steve Moore graphic novel "Hercules: The Thracian Wars."

​Writer Steve Moore wanted to have his name disassociated from this adaptation of his work.

In an interview with website Bleeding Cool, fellow writer Alan Moore expressed concern about this adaptation of his colleagues work and the deal the publisher made for the movie.
​
Moore said that Steve Moore had “quite a few problems with Radical Comics in producing the comic book and there were compromises that he had been assured that he would not have to make which he had, in fact, been told to make,” including the fact that “Steve wouldn’t be getting any money from [the movie, with] the only consolation [being] that his name wouldn’t be going on it.”

Upon Steve Moore’s death, however, that apparently changed. In the interview with Bleeding Cool, Alan Moore alleged that following the his death in March 2014, Steve Moore’s name started appearing in publicity materials for the movie, which he suggests was an attempt to take advantage of any posthumous interest in the writer’s work. “Now I’d have to look at my thesaurus and see if there are any words other than “vile” which I could use for that,” Moore told the website, “but even in the low estimation in which I hold the greater part of the comic industry, that is a new low.”

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RELATED MOVIES

300 (2007)

HERCULES (2014) MOVIE IMAGES

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HERCULES (2014) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson plays the title character of Hercules in this Brett Ratner adaptation of Steve Moore's comic book tales of the fabled hero. This version of the Hercules legend will be different those previously seen, as Johnson is set to play him not as a god, but as a man whose unique strength and power makes people believe that he may be the son of the mighty Greek god Zeus!

HERCULES (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 24 July 2014

Pop ​Movee Rating

The Dwayne Johnson & Brett Ratner HERCULES collaboration is an up-tempo action film that manages to squeeze in an above-average amount of characterisation for a film that is driven by set pieces. The movies’ screenwriters, Ryan Condal and Evan Spilitopoulos, take the late Steve Moore’s comic book Hercules and spin him into a story that moves at a cracking pace and manages to remain entertaining throughout with some corny one-liners and the sheer physical presence of Johnson.

The story is not a slave to its comic origins; nor is it a slave to Grecian mythology. This version of Hercules is ambiguous in the sense that it never confirms whether or not Johnson’s Hercules is indeed the son of the Greek God Zeus.

Johnson’s character is possessed of great strength and his feats toward the end of the film would suggest that he is superhuman; if not a god. Unlike the Sam Worthington TITANS films, HERCULES never delves into man versus monster territory. The twelve labours that Hercules undertakes in the film’s prologue and throughout the movie are told as myth but, as events unfold, turn out to be nothing more than men deluding themselves into believing something to exist where it does not.

This allows Ratner to play with the audience’s perceptions of Hercules’ strength and allow other characters in the film to fall into the trap of believing the myth at their own peril. In an effort to keep events somewhat grounded, the story surrounds Hercules with a group of mercenaries who have all sworn allegiance to him because he has shown that he is as prepared to die for them in battle as they are for him.

The film’s characters aid the story tremendously as Ratner surrounds Johnson with both protagonists and antagonists that compliment his screen presence and play off the “Is he or isn’t he a god” story-point.

Rufus Sewell is great as Autolycus, Hercules’ most trusted brother-in-arms. Sewell does things in such a minimal way that it doesn’t look like he’s even trying to act, even when he’s in the middle of a full-fight action sequence he makes it look all-too-easy. His presence in Hercules lifts proceedings considerably.

Veteran British actor Ian McShane helps lift the film as well; playing Amphiaraus, another of Hercules’ mercenary band. McShane gets a lot of funny “moments’ throughout the as he communes with the gods about future events only to have his prophecies thwarted by Hercules’ ability to save the day time and again.

Given so many of the supporting cast members are seasoned British stage & screen actors, it’s easy to see why the film is a cut above the normal action movie. The most notable of the Brits is John Hurt, who brings makes provides a memorable turn as Lord Cotys; who sounds like he just smoked six packets of Marlboros! 

As always, Brett Ratner’s direction is serviceable for what’s going on up on the screen. Ratner has had his fair share of critics, especially from X-MEN fans who directed a lot of the blame at him for the perceived problems of X-MEN: THE LAST STAND. There’s no doubt though, Ratner knows the kind of movies to make that get people into cinemas. Whether he’s directing them or producing them, he’s had a lot of success in both movies and television.

HERCULES should be another box office winner for him and will probably see him with a fifth feature film to gross in excess of $100 million at the US Box Office. Dwayne Johnson’s increased profile in overseas markets should also see the film do well in foreign markets. Even though this version of Hercules is based on a comic book, the core story is recognisable to a much broader movie-going audience that those who wait with trepidation for each new Marvel instalment.

In addition to Ratner, there’s some serious behind-the-scenes talent attached to the film’s production...

The Director of Photography is Dante Spinotti, who has become Ratner’s go-to camera guy. Spinotti has lensed such great films as Michael Mann’s HEAT and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. Hercules is the fourth time he and Ratner have worked together. Australian Stephen Jones served as one of the Executive Producers on the production. Since getting his break in feature films, Jones has moved from producing films here in Australia and has recently had a great run of success with films such as GRAVITY, 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE and Disney’s MALEFICENT.

With its 98 minute running time, HERCULES doesn’t over-stay its welcome. Johnson carries the film from start to finish and he’s directed well enough by Ratner to bring some tone to a role that could have degenerated into farce.

​HERCULES is far more entertaining and enjoyable than serious critics will give it credit for, but, it’s pretty clear that this film wasn’t made for those people in mind. It’s definitely not suitable for anyone under the age of 12 as there is a lot of violence and death depicted on screen and some scenes are quite graphic in their depiction. If, however, you’re a teenager or adult looking for a movie that helps you escape from the troubles of the world for a couple of hours, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as HERCULES could be just what you’re after...

HERCULES MOVIE (2014) USEFUL LINKS

Hercules (2014 film) - Wikipedia
​Hercules (2014) - IMDb
​Hercules (2014) - Rotten Tomatoes​

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