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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
To put it simply… this was bad! Really, really, really bad!
It's a retelling of the story of Hercules that imagines him as your typical Moses-like hero overthrowing a tyrant. It's as clichéd as it gets, and you can even pinpoint the famous historical epics it's blatantly ripping off. First it's 300, then it becomes Ben-Hur, then it becomes Gladiator, then it becomes every triumphant "people's hero" leader-type story you've ever seen before.
The first thing I noticed right away is that the CGI is awful! I mean, astonishingly bad! Some of the worst I've ever seen! The acting, too, crushes your spirit pretty quickly: every performance is so dull it's downright depressing.
On top of that, the only one of the famous twelve labours that's even remotely referenced is the Nemean lion. Even the Disney version had more to do with the legend than that!
On a minor note, when Hercules pulls down two stone pillars and starts swinging the stone blocks around on the ends of his chains, all I could think was, "Hulk SMASH!" :D ('Cos didn't he do something similar at one point in the Edward Norton movie?)
Overall, this is one of the most boring, derivative movies I've come across in quite a while. In terms of tradecraft, it's easily the worst movie I've seen so far this year… but it wasn't quite as frustrating as Lucy.
My rating: 20%
