Mooky wrote:
I liked Hercules a lot as a kid but the plot really goes nowhere. Hercules doesn't really sell me on the hero's arc. He is constantly relying on borrowed power to accomplish his goals, using god-like strength to defeat enemies and Zeus' influence to get access to a legendary mentor. He has the epic training montage, and then proceeds to beat up a bunch of monsters to be a hero. Then comes the plot revelation where Zeus shakes his head and reveals that beating up lots of monsters is great, but it isn't what makes you a hero.
This seems like it would be the plot hook for the final act where Hercules has some sort of epiphany or revelation about what true heroism is. But it never really happens, in part because his so-called "mentor" doesn't seem to actually appreciate or understand true heroism and thus can't impart any useful knowledge, but also because Hercules never really makes any effort to dig deeper or discover anything new about himself. The plot point of him losing his powers could have been a great way to explore this, forcing Hercules to save the day on his own merits instead of his god-given gifts. But in the end he just gets his powers back and uses those to save the day. Then he just sort of stumbles into the secret of true heroism in the ending doing what he would have done anyway.
Forgive me for shooting off-topic here, but this reminds me of a criticism of My Hero Academia I'd read that you'd think Izuku would end up proving his worth without powers rather than being given powers later. The idea is interesting, but I'm not sure I'd really want to see it really (in MHA or
Hercules)? As they point out, the ultimate focus of the plot is on how being a hero is what the motivation is (and possibly the sacrifices you're willing to make), not really whether you solve the problem with brain or brawn.
I kind of felt the same way about the Gaston idea. It's hard for me to remember that far back, but I can imagine how some would have expected that kind of film for
Hercules. That said, I like that Hercules himself is more pure and that he wears down the cynical world around him. That idea of a Gaston-type hero reminds me sort of what we got with Flynn later. Not that it's not one worth exploring, I've just seen so many films with conceited heroes who have to be taken down a peg by the end.* Although, admittedly,
Hercules would've come before most of those if it had featured that kind of story.
I actually agree that the film is "weird" in the sense that it's such a hodgepodge of many discordant things, but I don't agree with that last quote though in regards to pacing / structure or the heroes-as-celebs aspect with all the merchandise and so on.
* That was actually a common Renaissance trope, of men being "enlightened" by a female character. It's actually interesting to see it in reverse with Megara being changed and overcoming her faults because of Hercules.
