Happy 2014! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on this blog. I shall just admit my laziness and leave it at that.

Anywho, the first movie of 2014 that this girl who never sleeps (not really, I sleep, I do) watched is… The Legend of Hercules. Not much of a surprise or a suspense there since I had the poster up above before I even began the post.

Kellan Lutz, who was Emmett Cullen from the Twilight series, beefed up for this role of the legendary mythological hero named Hercules, the son of Zeus. There were many remakes of Hercules, one of the popular ones being the TV series called Hercules: The Legendary Journey back in the 90s starring Kevin Sorbo and the animated Walt Disney movie, Hercules. There will also be another Hercules movie simply called Hercules later this year starring The Rock. So, how does this fare against the others?

Let me first admit that I was really sceptical about Kellan Lutz having this role. I never really see him as Hercules. Maybe him as Emmett Cullen and my not-so-admirable view of Twilight clouded my view but I wasn’t so sure. I was really big fan of Hercules: The Legendary Journey so that must be part of the reason as well. But I think Kellan did pretty well as Hercules. He doesn’t have the good looks but he does have the body (or at least he worked really hard to get that body) of Hercules. With that body, I’d believe he has the immense strength to kill a lion, etc etc.

But the thing I have an issue with is the plot. Other than the whole son of Zeus, a demigod with unreal strength to defeat an army, the rest are probably not what the story of Hercules is, from what I’ve remembered reading about. To be honest, I think Hercules the animated movie was closer to the myth of Hercules than this movie and I think if you are really into Greek mythology and the like, you would not be very pleased with this one.

The story follows Hercules who was in love with Hebe but the sibling rivalry and favouritism led to the tyrant of a King, their father, to give Hebe away to his brother instead. Because Hercules and Hebe decided to elope and got caught doing so, Hercules was sent off to battle with Sotiris and his army. While finding a place to camp, they were ambushed by the enemy and the rest of the soldiers were killed with the exception of Hercules and Sotiris who showed great strength as well. As such, they were sold to slavery and became gladiators. The rest of the movie was basically him fighting his father and back to Hebe.

If you know the myth, you would probably know that’s not what happened and I’m afraid it would confuse people who might have just been introduced to Greek mythology. If they ever googled the story, they would be so confused.

I do like Liam McIntyre though. And I am worried he’ll get typecasted. He acted as Spartacus in the last two seasons and now, this one. To be honest, he has the looks and the body to be in this sort of movie but as someone who admire his acting abilities, I hope that he does act in other types of movies as well. He has the leading man looks.

Anyway, I’d not recommend those who are first-timers in Greek mythology to watch this. At least not until you read briefly about the myth. But if you are looking for purely action and entertainment and not care about the plot at all, then this might be a nice movie to just watch and be entertained by a bunch of beefed up dudes beating each other up, gladiator-style. If you have kids and you’re thinking of bringing them to introduce them to the world of ancient Greek mythology, please don’t. I don’t think this movie is kids-friendly anyway.

The trailer…