Hercules: Thracian Wars

One of the best-known characters of old Greek myths is probably Hercules – the well-built, attractive, incredibly powerful demigod and son of Zeus himself who is the only true ruler of Olympus. On 25th July 2014 a new version of the Hercules legend directed by Brett Ratner  and produced by Beau Flynn was released and shows viewers a refreshing different interpretation based on the comic “Hercules: Thracian Wars”.

Hercules – excellently played with all humane weaknesses by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson - has already been getting up in years. Together with five other henchmen (starring Rufus Sewell, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Aksel Hennie, Reece Ritchie and Ian McShane) he fights as well-paid mercenary for a diversity of Greek city states. Moreover, the strongest hero of the antique world must not only deal with enemy armies but also with the unsolved murder of his wife and children.  When he and his friends should help beating the tyrant Rhesus they have to figure out which is the right side to fight for. Lord Cotys who wants their support in the civil war of Thrakien is acted by John Hurt as a rather softer baddie.

The screenplay created by Ryan Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos concentrates not only on spectacular fight scenes including every kind of monsters of Hellenic legends but most of all on psychological warfare. Therefore, it’s the role of an old storyteller which is the most powerful one in the filmstrip. Invented narratives about Hercules’s 12 feats frighten his enemies already before a bloody confrontation and that’s why lots of them avoid fighting against him. Especially, keeping with the motto “The word is mightier than the sword” Ratner realized an interesting contemporary war movie eased by a dry sense of humor.

But don’t worry if you are an action fan – this 100 Mio. – Dollar movie is your money worth as well. Probably, convincing 3D animations of huge boars, water dragons and masked warriors will catch your attention. Furthermore, an instrumental, dramatic soundtrack by Fernando Velasquez builds up a bridge between music and the tension of the story.

To put the thing in a nutshell: with “Hercules: Thracian Wars” you can definitely look forward to entertaining 98 minutes and enter in the antique Greek myths.