Hercules

First of all, I want to praise the filmmakers for the trailer, which, although it seems to entice us with another gimmicky spectacle full of mythological characters and monsters, in the end it is completely different. Hercules simply won it for me even without hydras, giant boars, nemesis lions and who knows what else. Its story is not fantastical, but it moves along without stopping and still offers some fun. The way the screenplay lightens the action with humor reminded me of the good old Arnold Schwarzenegger movies (is there anyone who doesn't burst out laughing at the fire spear scene, for example?) and the acting of Dwayne Johnson, who is impossible not to root for, actually. The other characters are also well cast and acted, and the director has managed to make the battles gritty despite the fact that the enemies don't spurt blood (he cleverly saved that for the end for the title character), but just dust. (17.09.2015)

It’s a bit of a mess with tons of digital effects, but hey, it’s got The Rock, and that’s not nothing. Still, it feels like something’s missing. If I’m being honest, Pompeii had a similar vibe but was a notch more entertaining for me. (29.12.2014)

Watch the extended and unrated cut, otherwise it won’t make any sense. Because the only thing tha does are the several very well-executed action and battle sequences that often captivate with their straightforwardness and relatively solid dose of heaven-piercing force. The rest is just a more or less effective mess of clichés. Rather than being a pompous ancient legend, it's closer to a dirty and gloomy Conan the Barbarian, and even the main hero himself is stylized as such. It's trash, but the protagonists are and surprisingly the wisecracks work quite well and solidly lighten up the unoriginal script. (19.01.2015)

I like the idea of removing the myth from Hercules, the story based on the comic book is fine. Predictable and simple, but fine. The tempo is just right (slowing only after the introductory action sequence), decent effects and Dwayne is trying hard. Liberal usage of snappy lines (soothsayer Ian McShane dominates in this) and everything’s simply ok. Unfortunately “ok" is the problem. Ratner isn’t able to come up with anything interesting or original. The story fizzles out and ends in flames and in Scorpion King style. Hasn’t the Rock learned anything over the years? (22.10.2014)

If Hercules had focused on completing the 12 tasks I think the film would have gone into the red as well, but I'm still very pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it is. I'm definitely impressed by the awesome Dwayne Johnson, the very attractive visuals and CGI, I haven't seen such top notch effects in a long time. I was also surprised by the great and creative action, it  is long, imaginative, excellently shot and at times decently brutal, so fans will definitely get a kick out of this one. And I was especially pleased that the film pokes fun at legends and superstitions and that there's always a realistic explanation. Perfect entertainment! (25.10.2014)