Parents' Guide to Hercules

The story and the action sequences, while mildly entertaining, are nothing spectacular -- or nothing you haven't already seen in countless similar movies. Johnson is one of Hollywood's most charismatic action stars -- he commits to his roles and generally plays likable heroes who are easy to root for in every movie -- but his Hercules is considerably broodier than other characters Johnson has played, and he leaves the humor to his co-stars, especially McShane and Sewell. These three actors are basically the chief reasons to see this popcorn action flick.

The dialogue is so formulaic that moments that should be serious or poignant are eye-rollingly obvious and almost laughable. And the flashbacks to Hercules' sexy (and dead) wife disrobing and looking sultry take away from the emotional impact of her death. When Maximus in Gladiator remembered his wife, it wasn't about how sexually attractive she was but about the fact that she was his wife and the mother of his child. It's a shame that since there's no outright romance in Hercules, the director chose to add in those unnecessary scenes, as well some off-the-mark double entendres about long swords and tongues and the like. These fall flat, unlike the many subtle jokes that McShane's Amphiaraus delivers. In the end, McShane's quiet, wise, and funny seer and Sewell's sarcastic realist steal the show, but they still can't save the movie from being just another forgettable action flick. At the very least, it's better than The Legend of Hercules.