“Hercules” opens with scenes of the Greek hero performing feats of superhuman strength: killing a three-headed Hydra with a few glistening arcs of his sword; defeating a massive wooly boar by plunging his blade into its head; and defeating a ferocious lion with his bare hands. Each of these violent vignettes is narrated in dramatic fashion, with an animated voice proclaiming the invincibility of the son of Zeus.
Then we meet the real Hercules, played by a muscular Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson,” as he saves a friend from a band of pirates. While he’s good with a sword, he relies on a small band of companions he’s gathered during his travels as a mercenary to help get the job done.
The message is clear: there’s the legend, and the stories that go with him, and there’s the truth, which is more human than the legend suggests. Director Brett Ratner then all but dispenses with the more fantastic elements of Hercules and proceeds to tell a human story about the Greek hero.
The story is simple: Hercules has his life as a sword-for-hire tested when a king and his daughter seek his help defeating a warlord. Hercules and his faithful friends train the farmers and peasants under the king’s rule, gradually turning them into a decent fighting force capable of employing a variety of tactics in battle. This small army participates in several skirmishes against what appear to be villagers made mad by the warlord’s magic. Then comes the confrontation against the warlord, said to be a centaur who leads a massive array of soldiers who are half-man, half-horse.
Without giving the scene away, I like how Ratner shot and edited the reveal of the warlord. It’s clever. With each step forward in the story, Ratner tears down the mask of myth to reveal the human face beneath.
Some have cried “Foul!” I admire the choices Ratner and his writers, working off the graphic novel, “Hercules: The Thracian Wars,” made. How easy would it have been to make another CGI animated blockbuster? How much harder was it to produce a thoughtful Earth-bound adventure about a man who might or might not be a demigod?
In challenging the legend, Ratner forced himself and the others making the movie to tell a compelling story, lest audiences grow bored with the lack of gross spectacle. A subplot about the death of Hercules’ wife and children provides the dramatic thread that runs through the movie, while a couple of twists and turns in the plot keep the gears turning. Hercules is also shown to be vulnerable in battle, which is more interesting than an invincible hero who rarely suffers a scratch.
You might be thinking the new “Hercules” I’ve described has no popcorn value. Fortunately, that’s not the case. The action takes place on massive, beautifully designed indoor and outdoor sets. While I’m sure computer animated soldiers were used to fill in the ranks of the armies during the battles, you can tell Ratner and company employed hundreds of extras, and dressed them in armor and handed them weapons and shields. There’s a tactile nature to “Hercules” missing from many modern action movies. This is how fantasy films used to be made.
I also admire Ratner for taking a traditional approach to shooting the movie. He kept handheld shots to a minimum, and instead of whipping the camera around like a madman looking for a speck of sanity, he held the camera still and allowed movement to take place within the frame. Like Michael Bay did with this summer’s “Transformers” sequel, Ratner knows people are paying to see a movie, not two hours of blurs.
Finally, the Rock. What a performance. He could have dialed this in, relying on his trademark smile and flexed pecs, but he buried himself in the role of Hercules. Whatever a scene calls for - rage, angst, empathy, humor – he delivers.
“Hercules” is an interesting balance of popcorn entertainment and thoughtful fantasy. While it’s fun to watch, and it tells an interesting story, it’s also about the effects of our perceptions. Hercules’s enemies and allies know the stories about him, and are either intimidated or encouraged by those tales, depending on the side on which they’re fighting. It’s also about our strength as humans. In the end, the movie says there’s as much might in the person of Hercules as there is the legend.
Not bad for a summer blockbuster starring the Rock.
Three stars out of four. Rated PG-13 for violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language, and partial nudity. v