Hercules (2014)

Hercules is an average movie that is the definition of a brainless summer movie.

Hercules tries to blur the line between myth and reality. In the beginning, it shows the tales of Hercules as told by the narrator, a thoroughly different character to the one who has been revealed to be telling the story. This already jars the tone of the movie, especially considering the character revealed to be the narrator has a voice that is more suited for the role of narrator.

The jarring tone remains as people are unable to determine how much of the story actually involves gods and how much are the lies they tell themselves. This makes the film stand out is that it seeks the more realistic reasoning for the myths, for example the Hydra ends up being a group of people in serpent shaped masks as opposed to a multi headed serpent. This in and of itself makes for a refreshing takes on ancient Greek mythology.

Dwayne Johnson serves as an appropriate lead, his physical presence as close to that of Hercules as possible. He and the rest of the cast however suffer from a curious affliction. Their physical motions seem to accurately convey what they should be feeling, bar a couple of motions. Oddly enough though, there is no power in their words.

I fear that the problem may have been in the scripting, as it seemed unnatural. The words that come out of the characters mouths are written in such a way that it is hard to believe that the Greeks would use those words.

Rufus Sewell, John Hurt and Joseph Fiennes are the only three who appear able to pull off such bland dialogue as they make up for it by chewing the scenery. Rufus Sewell was a particular highlight of mine. His character was that of the stable friend. Despite the predictability of his arc, he maintains a quiet presence which I personally find appealing, despite the lack of times that his characters jokes lands.

Action wise, the film has managed to determine the different styles in which each character fights, which is refreshing as it gives each character their own personality on the battlefield. It is a nice contrast to the bland action of many modern movies.

Story wise, this film is predictable in every which way, other than replacing the trials with more earthly substitutes. This is not meant to be a criticism, but there is the feeling that more could be done with this movie. It feels like a wasted opportunity. It turns what could have been an interesting and amusing concept into a movie where the end is known after ten minutes.

Number of Times I looked at my watch: 8

Recommendation: Watch on Netflix if you want a brainless experience.

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The Gunman (2015)

The Gunman is a mediocre movie whose stars have all seen better days in far superior films.

The movie is reminiscent of "Taken" solely with regards to an old operative being drawn back into action for reasons. While the overly long set up pre modern day (2014) was meant to make you care about the characters, it seemed to solely foreshadow what would happen in the future. Part of the problem could be the trailer or over abundance of movies in the genre in all fairness.

Sean Penn has the physical build to play our hero, but there is an overall feeling that his performance, as well as the rest of the casts, have played this movie as by the numbers as possible.

The most criminal part of this is how Javier Bardem is wasted in his role. Scenes with him in them only highlighted the potential for this film to have broken the mould and become something more than it was. The same goes for Idris Elba, who played a role so small that it was apparent that he was cast solely so his name could appear in the opening credits.

Regarding the fight scenes and choreography, this film passes. The film has enough physical presence to pass as an action movie, fulfilling the quota for explosions without wowing the audience. I jumped once at a solitary gunshot within the movie, not out of excitement, but due to the fact it was unexpected.

This film manages to achieve its goals without wowing the audience in any way. It is a nice time at the cinema if you check your brain at the door.

Number of time I looked at my watch: 5

Recommendation: See if bored

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