Film Review | Hercules

sL Star Rating: ★★★★

Everyone knows the legend that is wrapped in one name: Hercules (Dwayne Johnson). Son of Zeus; Hated One of Hera; Sport of the Gods; Strongest of all men. His twelve labours match no man’s achievements. They testify to his strength and his prowess as a demigod.

But what if the legend is all that he is? What if the legend is merely a story? What if Hercules is only a mere whisper to the ear?

Did such a myth ever truly exist?

The Story

The premise of this retelling of the Grecian hero is that Hercules was a simple man who achieved many things. His glory was achieved by many men (and a woman) rather than on his own. In this story, we see that the twelve labours are not what they seem, just as much as Hercules is not who he appears to be. In the process of serving a striving ruler, Hercules and his might warriors find themselves in the middle of a civil war that has the past, present and future colliding. Suddenly, in his darkest hour, Hercules completes the twelve labours that reality spawns from myth; here, Hercules is turns legend into truth.

I enjoyed watching this movie a lot! The first reason is that it’s not at all the myth of Hercules, in fact is about how the myth was birthed and prolonged – and ideally how it came to be true. I loved the fact that Hercules was not just the name of one man, but rather the name of many men. From the get-go you realise that it’s not about a hero, but the fact that anyone can be a hero. The second reason I loved this movie is there’s no love interest. Taking from the original text, this film picks up somewhere in the middle where Hercules had and lost his wife and children – creating a mystery as to how he lost them in order to add to the legend. The third and final reason I love this film is for its simplicity. It didn’t try to portray a man larger than life, but rather a man getting by in life.

I also liked that Hercules struggled with anxiety from the trauma of his loss. I liked that this weakness was framed in the context that it’s a personal labour that he must conquer – something that he must gain closure for. I’m a bit at odds with whether the military formation was more Roman than Grecian, but in saying that, I really enjoyed seeing ancient military tactics that I read about back when I was in high school.

The Cast

Dwayne Johnson was a great Hercules. He was believable in his seriousness and light-heartedness, even in his spurts of comedy. Much like his character, Johnson was well supported by Ian McShane, Rufus Swell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Reece Ritchie. McShane being the wise seer of the pack, along with Ritchie’s youthful antics and powerful “wordsmanship”, provided much of the comic relief with their little quips about death from the former and witty retorts from the latter. Boslø Berdal and Swell were the serious and sarcastic additions to the pack who kept Hercules intact. Although Hennie only had one intelligent line the entire film, when he did deliver it, it was powerful and meaningful in the father-son-like dynamic between Hercules and Tydeus.

John Hurt and Joseph Fiennes play very interesting characters as they portray two fairly similar rulers. Both were believable and incredible contrast to each other and to Johnson. The power dynamic between these three characters is incredible.

Rebecca Ferguson also did an incredible job of being the wife and mother that Hercules’ lost. Not that their was any interest projected by the two characters, but rather a common ground in the loss of loved ones and a hope that comes with overcoming such tortures. Ferguson portrayed a friend and sister – if anything an added member to the comrades – rather than a possible love interest.

Aussie, Stephen Peacocke, receives a special mention for his sound performance in his first motion picture. Though his accent was a little unclear, he delivered his lines with conviction and even with a slight hint of humour. Kudos mate!

Overall

It’s a well-written, well-executed and beautifully casted film. There’s enough action to keep you buzzing, enough emotion not to miss a side-line love story, enough comedy to have you smirking and enough heart to have you swelling with communal pride. I recommend it for all ages – but if you get a little sick with the sight of blood, be prepared to shut your eyes tight. It’s one for the history nerds – represent!

Next on sL: The Giver

Film Review | Sex Tape

sL Star Rating: ★★★

Annie (Cameron Diaz) and Jay (Jason Segel) have been happily married for some time now. But living a happily married life isn’t the same as having a happy and active sex life. When they find themselves in a rut in that particular level of intimacy, a night of passion turns into a night of possible permanent public humiliation. With Annie’s prospects of an awesome job on the line, will Jay have what it takes to save both their reputations and their marriage?

The Story

This film opens with flashbacks of the evolution of Jay and Annie’s sex life via Annie’s narration as she blogs. The premise of the film is the struggle of keeping the fire alive after children enter the picture. This evolution sees Jay and Annie go from a burning bush to a dwindling flame and eventually, ashes of the campfire. The trouble begins when Annie and Jay try to revers the clock by lighting a match and throwing it into the ashes when they record themselves making love. But instead of bursting into gentle flames, they spark a bushfire as Jay forgets to delete the video. In a panic to save their reputation – and Annie’s career prospects – the couple set out to erase their video from estranged iPads given to friends, family and the mailman. But with a mysteriously conniving “text-assassin” is thrown into the mix, the stakes rise to a whole new level.

I personally thought that the movie opens and closes very boldly in the sense that it was borderline pornographic – but of course you’d expect that from a film titled “Sex Tape”. Yet, regardless of how it starts and ends, I thought the in between was realistic in its portrayal of the loss of passion after the your marital status goes from “husband and wife” to “mum and dad”. As the film progresses, you know, just much as Annie and Jay do, that a sex tape won’t fix the bigger issue; you feel for the couple both in their endeavour to reignite their passion and in their pains as they go through damage control.

As the two go about their demolition hunt, and have their true feelings about the issue come out into the open in the process, other elements come into the mix that have you laughing and cringing along with the characters. I enjoyed how writers, Kate Angelo, Nicholas Stoller and Segel himelf, portrayed a marriage that was strong but not getting the much needed intimacy – both through verbal communication and sexual passion – through the business that comes with life, rather than just focussing on the fact that Jay and Annie haven’t ‘done it’ in a while. I also loved portrayals of other couples and their marriages along with how children shake up their previous lives. These dynamics are then used as set-ups for twists that occur later on in the film. I also thought the interlocking of the porn-industry was very clever. I particularly loved that they don’t make excuses for the industry, but instead make a powerful statement about why it exist.

The Cast

Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel carry their chemistry from Bad Teacher straight into this film. There is no denying that they completely compliment one another in both the comedic aspects as well as the more serious elements of the film. There’s an ease to their exchange in dialogue and their physical theatre – especially with the endeavours that they attempt for this film.

Rod Corddry and Ellie Kemper heighten the comedic element of the film as they produce even more comic relief beside the existing quips delivered by Diaz and Segel. The four of them support each other so well that you can believe that they are the perfect couple-friends that will go through everything and anything together – even if it meant you couldn’t look at them in the eye ever again.

Overall

Although I thought the story was well written, I thought there were a lot of risqué scenes in this film. I do acknowledge that this film gives a fair warning with its title, nevertheless, I really don’t think they needed to show us some of the snippets from the actual sex tape that was created – not just because they were borderline vulgar, but the angles were unrealistic if the iPad was propped from a single position (no innuendo intended) and the video was unedited. This film is definitely and adults only film. Although the film has a family unit, it is in no way G-rated – so do not watch this with children under the age of eighteen present in the room.

Next on sL: Hercules