Well here we go again, Hollywood. You’ve got two movies in production with the same premise. This time it’s Hercules is awesome and looks good shirtless and can beat people up. In one corner you’ve got the upcoming Hercules starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and directed by Brett Ratner. In the other corner, you’ve got Hercules: The Legend Begins, starring Kellan Lutz and directed by Renny Harlin. If those two names seem a bit less recognizable to you, then congratulations: you’re smarter than the studio executives who green-lit Hercules: The Legend Begins.
That’s not to say that a movie needs big, recognizable names to be good, but let’s face it: when you’re selling a Hercules movie, you’re really only doing so to get the maximum amount of profit possible. These aren’t prestige films angling for Oscars, they’re wannabe big-budget blockbusters.
Also, in looking at what we’ve seen of the two films so far, Hercules: The Legend Begins really only suffers in comparison. It seems to pull every move possible out of the 300 playbook, and considering that 300 came out in 2007, that playbook is starting to look awfully dated. The CGI-laden special effects look unimpressive, the acting looks equally not-so-good, and the plot looks so generic one has to wonder if they crossed out another protagonist’s name on the script and wrote “Hercules” over it in red pen.
Hercules: The Legend Begins is scheduled to hit theaters sometime in 2014. The other, unrelated Hercules movie is scheduled for release in August 2014. In other words, it sounds like next summer is likely to be “The Summer of Hercules.” The producers of Hercules: The Legend Begins had better hope they can get their movie out before August if they hope to have any chance of avoiding a box office flop.
Check out the trailer below, compare Kellan Lutz’s muscles to the rippling biceps in these pictures of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and start planning how you’re going to be spending your hard-earned Hercules money next year.
