Each year there are these movies which give you this feeling “it’s probably better to skip this one”. It’s some sort of spidersense you have developed as a movielover and often that sense turns out to be correct. In 2014 the movie Hercules would be released, starring Dwayne Johnson. Not long before that suddenly this movie entered theaters. I don’t know if it was supposed to take some money away from that movie, but The Legend of Hercules looked like a B-movie. So I decided to skip it, but when it recently was shown on TV I decided to give it a chance. I’ve learned a wise lesson from that: Sometimes you just have to watch these type of movies to get a better perspective on the movies which are worth watching.
Of course this movie is about Hercules (Kellan Lutz). It shows how his mother became pregnant with him and that it was a secret she had to keep from the man who thought it was his son. Hercules grows up as prince Alcides and falls in love with princess Hebe of Crete. His older brother, prince Iphicles, doesn’t like it an wants to marry her himself. Hercules is sent to Egypt. It turns out to be a trap and everyone is convinced that the young prince Alcides has died. He has managed to survive though and decides to come back for revenge on his brother (and father).
It quickly became apparent that I shouldn’t have high expectation when watching this telling of the Hercules story. The movie breathes “low budget”, with various CG elements including buildings and a lion which don’t convince for a moment. But that’s not the only thing you can be negative about. The dialog often is horrible and it is clear that the star of the movie clearly has been chosen for his physical appearance and not for his acting skills. He also misses the charm or charisma you’d expect with such a mythical character as Hercules. The moments when drama happens never connect to the viewer and it makes The Legend of Hercules a movie you’ll have to struggle to finish.
