I admit it, I was sucked in by the ads for NBCs Hercules movie. Surely, I knew better than to trust network television to make a good movie. Surely, I knew better than to believe they could handle such an epic story. Surely, I could have seen this offensive piece of poo coming.
The script was absolutely horrible – how can you take such classic legends and reduce them to this dribble. The acting was waaay over the top – did they think they were doing Shakespeare? Who is the network exec that signed off on this project? Were they sold on it’s “Lord of the Rings” appeal? And what of those horrible special effects and creatures? There was absolutely nothing redeeming about this movie.
Initially, I wasn’t really interested until I saw Leelee Sobieski in the cast. Even my desire to watch her couldn’t make me sit through the entire three hours. I have to admit though, after 45 minutes in, I did fast forward the TiVo to just check out her scenes.
As a former high school English teacher, I taught Greek Mythology for almost thirty years. The myth of Hercules particulary fascinates me.
I thought this movie was very well done, and the actual plot was not that far off from the actual legend/myth. The special effects were not that bad either. No matter what, I enjoyed watching it, and I thought it was one of the better mythological movies I have seen.
You are right in that it followed the legend well, the problem I had was how horribly it was written.