'The Legend of Hercules' DVD: Romance Gives Purpose To This Action Flick

The Legend of Hercules opens in Argos, Greece in 1200 B.C. King Amphitryon (Scott Adkins) is King of the Tiryns. After taking over the land of Argos, his wife, Queen Alcmene (Roxanne McKee) realizes that her husband has become too powerful. As she prays to a goddess to strike her husband down, a woman comes to her and declares that she will bear a son- the son of Zeus. His name will be Hercules and he would prove to be the savior for the people and destroy King Amphitryon.

When Queen Alcmene gives birth to Hercules, the king chastises her for cheating and vows that the boy will never be equal to their first son, Iphicles (Liam Garrigan), and names the baby Alcides.

Fast-forward 20 years and Alcides (Kellan Lutz) is grown. He has a strong physical appearance but he still does not know that he is the son of Zeus – his mother has kept it a secret. However, there are multiple scenes in the film that suggests that Alcides/Hercules has superior strength.

Despite the heavily action-packed plot, there is a romantic aspect that drives nearly all of the action. Alcides is in love with Princess Hebe of Crete (Gaia Weiss). However, Iphicles is also in love with her and plans to make her his wife. Hebe and Alcides decide they will run away together, but, soon after, the King’s soldiers catch them. Hercules is brought before the King and banished to Egypt and he literally fights his way back to Greece in order to find Hebe before she marries his brother.

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Throughout the film, Hercules must wrestle with his identity as both human and god. In a dramatic scene, Hercules is chained by his wrists to two large cement columns and being publically whipped. While Hercules is chained up, Iphicles is instructed by the king to kill Sotiris (Liam McIntyre), Hercules’ closest friend. Seemingly helpless, Hercules looks to the sky and declares his belief in Zeus and his identity as the son of Zeus. Upon his acceptance, Hercules’s full powers are released and he breaks free of the chains and saves Sotiris. Now that he accepted his destiny as a demigod, he can be victorious and fulfill his destiny.

I would give this film a three and a half stars out of five. At times, the plot was too complex and it was overwhelmingly difficult to keep every fight and character straight. Nevertheless, it was exciting and action-packed. The underlying love story also made it more interesting.

The Legend of Hercules is rated PG-13 and now available on DVD.