17. Hercules

Hercules
Directed by Brett Ratner
Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, 2014

Genre
Action, Adventure, Legend

Awards
None Known

Review
A brand new telling of the legend of Hercules shows that he doesn't always fight his battles alone.  He has a group of friends and skilled fighters, who stand by him.  The story opens showing some of the great feats Hercules was said to have accomplished, but quickly comes back to present times to find the storyteller is the nephew of Hercules who has been captured by pirates and is trying to delay their attempt to kill him while waiting for Hercules to come rescue him.  The movie continues from there, always hinting that Hercules may or may not really be the son of Zeus, but all that mattered was that his legend lived on so it went ahead of him, casting fear into the hearts of his enemies and inspiring courage in his allies.  The movie also references Hercules's family being killed and that he was banned from Athens, accused of their murder, which lead him to become a mercenary for hire.  A cleaver balance of humor and action/adventure was shown, humor mainly being shown by the character Tydeus, but also at times by others in Hercules's party.  This movie is rated PG-13 due to brief nudity (a quick flash of a woman disrobing from the back and showing her bare buttocks), intense battle scenes and violence, and language.  This telling of the Hercules legend is based on The Thracian Wars comic series by Radical Comics and can certainly be enjoyed by newcomers to the Hercules story, but those who have followed previous shows, movies, or other tellings made about this legend may see references in the movie.

Opinion
I was surprised this movie was rated PG-13.  The battle scenes were intense, but showed little blood.  There were certainly many dead bodies, including those of children showed up close, and heads on spikes.  There was a flash of brief nudity and language concerns including a handful of uses of the word "shit" and a use of the "f-word".  Parental discretion is definitely advised with this movie, as this may be considered absolutely appropriate by some parents and absolutely not by others.  That aside, I think this movie was certainly appealing to the tween group due to the casting of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Hercules and the heavy action in the film.  The 3D effects were a little overwhelming at the beginning, but were very enjoyable and well-timed for the rest of the movie.  Humor was well-used, having Tydeus being a consistent relief during fighting scenes.

Ideas
I would certainly recommend parents to look into this movie before deciding if it is appropriate for their tween to see, whether alone or with an adult.  It is a good addition to the anthology of Hercules retellings and will be a good addition to a mythology display (after it is released on DVD) to hopefully attract older patrons.