Hercules (2014 Film) (2 Stars)

You don't have to be a demi-god to be a hero.

I love the character of Hercules. I read the myths about him when I was young, then I read about him as a Marvel character who joined the Avengers, then came the TV series with Kevin Sorbo and the 2005 film starring Paul Telfer. This year there have been two films about Hercules, but the first one, "The Legend of Hercules" with Kellan Lutz, was never shown in English cinemas. I expected the film currently in the cinemas, the second Hercules film, to be at least as good as the 2005 film, probably better.

I was disappointed. In the very first minutes, when the voice-over said that we would be told the truth behind the legend, I groaned. Telling the truth about a well known character is usually an excuse to rewrite everything and create a work of speculative fiction. And that's just what I was presented today.

The film scales down Hercules. He's no longer the son of Zeus, he's just a mighty hero. All the stories about mythical creatures, like three-headed dogs and centaurs, are shown to be untrue. This would have been enough in itself for me to dismiss the film, but it got worse. Large sections of the film turned into military battles, army against army, rather than concentrating on Hercules himself. I would have preferred to see one man take on an army, but since this version of Hercules is only a mortal I could hardly expect it. And then there's Dwayne The Rock Johnson's atrocious acting. He strode from scene to scene, making wooden speeches without the least emotion. He's every bit as bad as Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Conan films. He should go back to wrestling, he's a total failure as an actor.