He’s kind of a con artist, to be honest, but he’s a good-hearted one. He’s a mercenary, and he and his team work together to take out bad guys (for gold) and grow the legend of Hercules to such an exalted level that the people of Thrace actually believe he’s the real Hercules. The Rock plays a guy named “Hercules,” but he’s not exactly the demi-god son of Zeus. There are some really great action sequences (especially in IMAX 3D), the storyline has a sense of frivolity, and most importantly, Dwayne Johnson brings charm, huge f**king muscles, and a keen sense of humor to Hercules. Hercules, directed by Brett Ratner (yes, that Brett Ratner) changes everything by injecting into a playful version of the Hercules myth a sense of real fun. They’re self-serious, boring, lacking in charm, and more importantly, none of them feature The Rock. The problem I’ve always found with these films is that they have no sense of humor. They’re all self-important and pretentious, and none of them (including Gladiator) are as good as the people in the films think they are. Immortal with Henry Cavill was likewise visually impressive but dull as mud, and I’d honestly rather watch all four Transformers movies than watch the two Clash of Titans movies again. I can’t think of one that I’ve really and truly enjoyed off the top of my head: 300 was visually interesting, but not my thing (gleaming abs, notwithstanding).
I do not care for swords-and-sandals pics.