The Legend of Hercules (2014): Review

Although I was not expecting much from this movie I have been waiting to see The Legend of Hercules since they started showing the trailers.  This movie is one of the examples of movies that are not very good in overall artistic value but it is a fun ride throughout.  I have always been a fan of action movies, as well as Greek mythology. I am a child of the nineteen nineties and watching Hercules on television was a big part of that time, so a big screen version of this movie was something that excites me like any new version of my favorite stories and lore.  This movie was exactly what I expected it to be and therefor my enjoyment factor was high.
The Legion of Hercules is one of the two Hercules movies that are coming out today and this one focuses on Hercules, played by Kellan Lutz as a young man and combines his trials and the story line of the movie into a short amount of time. The movie starts with Queen Alcmene, played by Roxanne McKee, seeking help through the goddess Hera to save her people from her husband King Amphitryon's, played by Scott Adkins, wrath.  The queen is gifted with bearing a second son who will be the son of Zeus and will be destined to bring peace to the land.  Although the goddess Hera names him Hercules, he does not grow up knowing who he true father is and always treated as second fiddle by the King.  He grows up and falls in love with Princess Hebe, played by Gaia Weiss, who his older brother Iphicles played by Laim Garrigan, covets.  Because of this Hercules is sent by the King to his presumed death but is ended up sold into slavery along with Captain Sotirius, played by Liam McIntyre.  They must try to battle they way out of slavery, try to save Hercules lady love before she is forced to marry Iphicles, and bring his homeland to peace.
Like I said this movie was exactly what I expected it to be but I did enjoy watching it. I was in a good mood going into it because I had seen for the first time two trailers for movies I am excited for, but this movie did deliver on what it was advertised to be.  Since it is a period action movie being released in January, it is automatically going to be a B-level movie. No one in the cast is known by the masses, although they are known in their niches by fans.  The diagonal is a bit cliche and forced, and the acting is a little over the top.  The action and special effects were alright but seemed to be made for 3D and I don't know why it wasn't released in 3D.  The action scenes were good and didn't go on for too long.  One of the good things about this movie was the pace and the overall feel of the movie was consistent.  The acting could have been better, but the over pressured acting and speech went with the poor dialogue, which went with the scope of the battles, and the overall cinematography.  From the beginning, it kept me focused and I wasn't bored.  This is definitely a movie that is worth watching if on television or for a rental but isnt really necessary to see in theaters.
Overall I can see why it was given a very good score or had good word of mouth going into the movie, but I defiantly do not think is was as bad as everyone was saying and overall I enjoyed it.  If you like these mythology type action movies and don't expect it to be award winning, it is a good action flick.

My Rating: 2-