The month of January not only brings Oscar hopefuls to cinemas, but misfit movies of questionable quality. The Legend of Hercules certainly fits the latter category. This new take on the mythological character attempts to present audiences with a new origin story, but winds up ineffectively stringing together a series of silly gladiator movie clichés.
Hercules (Kellan Lutz) lives under the tough scrutiny of King Amphitryon (Scott Adkins). Still, the lad seems content enough to frolic with his true love, Hebe (Gaia Weiss). Unfortunately, the King resents the fact that his son may not be from his own loins. Even worse is the ruler’s biological offspring Iphicles (Liam Garrigan), who wants sweet Hebe for himself. Together, the two villains plot to send the hero to his death in a distant battle. Instead, Hercules manages to survives the bloody fracas and is sold as a gladiator, where he attempts to fight his way to freedom.
The half-God’s problems also include an identity crisis. Early on, he refuses to believe that he is actually the son of Zeus, despite performing numerous superhuman acts that include brushing off arrows impaled in his chest like breadcrumbs and breaking the neck of a powerful lion with his bare hands. Told that he has been brought into the world to “bring peace”, Hercules eventually accepts his heritage and agrees to do so… by brutally killing an awful lot of people and leading a violent revolt against the tyrannical King.
The good news is that some of the 3D action scenes are actually well shot and edited. While undeniably cheesy, the gladiator battle fought high above pits filled with sharp spears is well-paced and fun to watch. Later, the use of slow motion as Hercules hurtles electric bolts and large stones through the air nicely utilizes depth and results in a couple of interesting shots.
The bad news, however, is just about everything else. In general, much of the 3D used in the majority of the film is eye-straining and off-putting. Wide shots with multiple plains of depth are particularly distracting and in many scenes the actors have a flat appearance like images out of a children’s pop-up book.
While the filmmakers may attempt to present great depth visually, as written the roles couldn’t be more one-dimensional. The dialogue is stiff and at times laughable. Additionally, the performers are often forced to deliver the material in an over-the-top manner. Not only do the characters scream, “Nooooooo!” into the heavens after a setback, but far too often are encouraged shout their lines. It’s as if they want to be heard not only by audience members inside the movie theater, but also by anyone passing in the lobby outside.
Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, 12 Rounds) can certainly put together an action scene. However, the script is so derivative and the dialogue so horrible that none of the characters are engaging and the story ultimately falls flat. In the end, The Legend of Hercules is unlikely to be remembered more than a few weeks past its release date.