Hercules (2014)

Having endured his legendary twelve labors, Hercules, the Greek demigod, has his life as a sword-for-hire tested when the King of Thrace and his daughter seek his aid in defeating a tyrannical warlord.

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers:

Ryan J. Condal (screenplay by), Evan Spiliotopoulos (screenplay by)

Stars:

Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt, Ian McShane

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dwayne Johnson	...	Hercules
Ian McShane	...	Amphiaraus
John Hurt	...	Lord Cotys
Rufus Sewell	...	Autolycus
Aksel Hennie	...	Tydeus
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal	...	Atalanta
Reece Ritchie	...	Iolaus
Joseph Fiennes	...	King Eurystheus
Tobias Santelmann	...	Rhesus
Peter Mullan	...	Sitacles
Rebecca Ferguson	...	Ergenia
Isaac Andrews	...	Arius
Joe Anderson	...	Phineas
Stephen Peacocke	...	Stephanos
Nicholas Moss	...	Demetrius (as Nick Moss)

Storyline

1400 B.C., a tormented soul walked the Earth that was neither man nor god. Hercules (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) was the powerful son of the god King Zeus. For this, he received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous labors, and the death of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods finding his only solace in bloody battle. Over the years, he warmed to the company of six similar souls, their only bond being their love of fighting, and the presence of death. These men and women never question where they go to fight, or why, or whom, just how much they will be paid. Now, the King of Thrace, Lord Cotys (Sir John Hurt) has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. It is time for this bunch of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen, when they must train an army to become as ruthless and bloodthirsty as their reputation has become.

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Plot Keywords:

hercules | greek mythology | ancient greece | female warrior | king | 

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Taglines:

Discover the truth behind the legend

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

King Rhesus of Thrace was a Trojan ally in Homer's Iliad. His name has been given to a type of monkey from the macaque family, native to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Myanmar (Burma), and a few neighboring countries.

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Goofs

The opening tells us that the date is 358 BC, yet the cultures and governments depicted in the movie are typical of a much earlier time, possibly even 1358 BC. One of the most telling details is that Eurystheus is called the King of Athens, an office abolished at least 400 years earlier when Athens became a republic.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Amphiaraus: ou think you know the truth about him? You know nothing. His father was Zeus. The Zeus. King of the gods. His mother, Alcmene, a mortal woman. Together, they had a boy. Half human, half god. But Zeus' queen, Hera, saw this bastard child as an insult, a living reminder of her husband's infidelity. Alcmene named the boy Hercules, which means glory of Hera, but this failed to appease the goddess. She wanted him dead. Luckily, he took after his father. Once he reached manhood, the gods...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

When the credits roll, there is a 3d animation sequence going over Hercules' labors against the beasts which shows how his companions helped him to slay them.

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Alternate Versions

The theatrical version was pre-cut following advice from the BBFC to remove "bloody detail" in three scenes, in order to obtain a 12A rating. These cuts persisted into every theatrical version worldwide and was the version also released on DVD/Blu-ray in the UK.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

Jungle
Written by Jamie N. Commons (as Jamie N Commons), Mike Del Rio (as Michael Gonzalez), Alex da Kid (as Alexander Grant) and Sam Nelson Harris (as Samuel Harris)
Performed by Jamie N. Commons (as Jamie N Commons) and X Ambassadors
Courtesy of Interscope Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Liked the message

For those wanting a 'genuine' mythology Hercules; this is not the movie for you. For those wanting a dark and realistic take on Hercules; this is not really the movie for you. For those hoping for popcorn fare, a little gory for a ten year old but just about right for a 13 or 14 year old, for those hoping for solid acting performances, well-choreographed fight scenes, and pretty high production values, then this is your show. And it's got a strong positive message that even those put off by the occasional splash of blood, the fleeting glimpse of bare female bottom, or the single comic use of the 'F' word would agree is something the American public occasionally needs to hear. Is it sort of formulaic? Yeah. So what? There are plenty of formulaic movies that have risen above stereotype into archetype. This isn't one of them, but it was worth the price of admission and the time spent. I'm glad Johnson got this movie done, and glad that I watched it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Brazil]

Country:

USA Hungary

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hercules

Filming Locations:

Origo Film Studio, Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,800,263, 27 July 2014

Gross USA:

$72,688,614

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$244,819,862

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Flynn Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 101 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Atmos SDDS Auro 11.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1