aesgaard41 The fact that my life and exploits of my relatives have always amused and annoyed me, and this retelling about my baby brother, well, he's over 2200 years old now, is not among the best. I mean, Steve Reeves gave him presence, Sorbo gave him character and even Ferrigno showed his power, Paul Telfer touches on his humanity as he meanders through his scenes spouting lines and exorcising character. The movie is basically a large budget wasted on a high school play. The stories are horribly and shockingly rewritten, to the point of practically being insulting. It tries to tell the untold story of Hercules never before depicted, but it makes up a new far-fetched version. This isn't so much a biography as a character assassination confusing the Sphinx with the Nemean Lion and the Harpies with the Stymphalian birds. I'd have expected much more from Halmi and Pogue. It depicts Amphitryon as a noble man, but Alcmene is shrewish, short-tempered and manipulative. Lovely Leelee Sobieski plays Deianeira, who is now over-joyed to hear she is now a nymph and not just a Calydonian princess annoyed by the fact she broke up her own marriage. The movie is a horribly condensed version of the true story, merging the details and confusing the motivations, quite insulting to the those purists who religiously follow the "myths" we left behind. There is very little basis on the actual story, just a half-twisted loyalty. Paul Telfer looks a bit like Tom Welling, the actor playing that Kryptonian character, and obviously relishes in the role. The cast places much effort in their roles, but all too often chewing the scenery and not once questioning this retelling. The true story is much more better than retelling it. Children and descendants, if you want to know about my baby brother, watch the "Legendary Journeys." He does and he gets a kick out of them, but he can only muster a few minutes of this film before shattering the picture screen with a beer bottle!

thesmilingbandit I never thought I would lament the days of the old Kevin Sorbo Hercules, but I think I do. This movie was decent and very much tried to be slightly more historic than the old TV show, but I wouldn't rate this one much past a 6 or so.The basic premise of the movie is a slightly more realistic (assuming monsters are realistic) approach to how the Hercules legend might have evolved. It was a bit bizarre actually as at times, it would portray characters who were real with a mysticism and build myth around them, yet at the same time, was using mythological creatures within the movie itself. Overall, I think that the premise of the film, while interesting, was a bit ill-conceived and contradictory.That being said, I think I enjoyed it well enough. William Shimell as Hercules was good enough and he at least looked the part with his ripped abs and roguish good looks. Sean Astin I think stole the best lines of the film and I can definitely see why he took on the role. Leelee Sobinski was slightly less irritating in this role than I've ever seen her so kudos there. All of the acting was decent but not great. Nothing to get super worked up over but nothing to not want to watch either.The effects were surprisingly good for a low-budget TV mini and while the monsters looked pretty hokey on the cover art, I was actually happy with them in the movie. Not great but not horrible either. Music was pretty unremarkable which I suppose isn't really a bad thing as it is supposed to be the background motif.Overall, I would say this movie is worth renting but not much more (not that it ever was in the theater or anything). 6 out of 10 stars.

Madolyn Griffith (maddymoo) I saw this advertised as "featuring Sean Astin", and I watched it *for* Sean Astin. I was quite disappointed, and in fact, felt rather embarrassed on his behalf, that he took this role at all, because compared to the character of Sam Gamgee, Linus as faithful servant to Hercules is pitiful. Surely Astin didn't do it for the money? Maybe he did it to work in New Zealand again, who knows.The second-saddest thing, I felt, was the CGI. I was mostly impressed by the rendering of the centaur, but where young Hercules lifts the white colt... urrrgh. And the deer looked like claymation. Horrendous.Most of the characters, though, were interesting to look at. Megara was gorgeous and I found no fault with her (other than being a scheming bitch, of course). But as to why she seduces Hercules then runs off afterwards remains a mystery to me.I consider this, the 3-hour version, a useful diversion from a lackluster Friday night, but I wouldn't bother to see it again.

cassieshort The latest version of Hercules is thoroughly entertaining with stand out performances from Elizabeth Perkins and Kristian Schmid. The scenery was magnificent and suited the epic nature of this adventure. Director Roger Young really got the most out of his actors, many of whom are highly respected. (Perkins, Dalton, Astin)There is nothing stuffy about Hercules (unlike many other Greek tragedies which have been filmed). The performances are charged with emotion. The stakes are high. The adaptation was accessible and clear, far superior to the last production starring Kevin Sorbo. My only query is why everyone except Leelee Sobieski was in English accent. I really enjoyed it and would like to see the longer version, which will hopefully come out on DVD. It's a shame it was up against Everybody Loves Raymond's finale because Hercules should have reached a wider audience.