About.com Rating

MPAA Rating: PG, for sequences of intense combat action and violence, and for some sensuality  
Genre: Action/adventure
Age recommendation: 12+
Runtime: 98 minutes
Starring: Kellan Lutz, Scott Adkins, Liam McIntyre
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: January 10, 2014

The Legend of Hercules - Overview

The Legend of Hercules is a retelling of the classic Greek myth, focusing on the story of Hercules’ efforts to reclaim his kingdom from his cruel father King Amphitryon.

After the King learns that Hercules is in fact not his child, but the child of the god Zeus, he sends Hercules away to war, were he leads his father’s armies on an important mission. Later, Hercules is able to escape the war and lead a revolt against his cruel father.

During this time, Hercules’ lover Hebe is set to be married to Iphicles, Hercules’s evil brother. Hercules is determined to stop the wedding and win back his love. Meanwhile, the King senses that a rebellion is brewing, so he turns on Hercules’s mother Queen Alcmene and his mentor Chiron, thus raising the stakes for Hercules’s adventure.

The Legend of Hercules - Review and Info for Parents

Greek Mythology has been a subject that although timeless in its literary context, has proven difficult to translate into a film medium. While it has had a few successes (Troy), there are significantly more films that are complete disasters (Clash of the Titans). The Legend of Hercules is no different, suffering from the common problem of having too much exposition, which eventually destroys the film’s pacing and is ineffective in telling the story.

If your child hasn’t read anything about Greek Mythology, the film could actually be confusing as it assumes that the audience has a background in Greek myths. In fact, though, the script doesn’t even seem to follow the story of Hercules accurately, taking many liberties with the story that don’t seem to pay off. Every single character is an absolute caricature and shows no depth whatsoever, and the visual style looks more like a video game than a film, ultimately making the film seem goofy and falling far short of the sweeping epic it attempts to be. Overall, the film feels a bit too childish for teens and too adult for children.  

The Legend of Hercules contains a fair amount of action violence including, fistfights, arrows, spears, and swords. While the film may be advertised as a fantasy epic, The Legend of Hercules contains very few fantastical elements and is primarily man on man combat. There are many depictions of war, gladiatorial combat, and duels.

The film also contains many sexual references. A major plot point is when the character Queen Alcmene chooses to bear the child of Zeus in order to create a warrior strong enough to defeat the evil King Amphitryon. There are also a few instances of implied sexual content. None of these instances are graphic, but nothing explicit is shown.

The Legend of Hercules has many slower scenes without action, which could bore children. It also has little humor, which might not appeal to children or teens looking for a fun movie. The Legend of Hercules explores the themes of friendship, courage, and family, and how they are affected by conflict.

The Legend of Hercules - Content Overview

Violence (Extreme): There is many instances of graphic violence throughout the film, including war, gladiatorial combat, and duels. The violence is almost all man on man and does contain bloody scenes, however all the action sequences are stylized in a way that none of the scenes look very realistic. There are many fights including hand to hand combat and with weapons. There is one scene of torture when Hercules is captured by the King and is whipped, but it is not very graphic.

Scary Scenes (High): Any of the scenes listed under “violence” could be perceived as scary. A lion appears during the beginning of the film which could scare some children, but it is only in one scene. King Amphitryon kills many people without remorse and threatens others, which could make him very frightening for children.

Sex/Nudity (High): As previously mentioned, a subplot in which the character Queen Alcmene chooses to bear the child of Zeus in order to create a warrior strong enough to defeat the evil King Amphitryon plays a very important role in the film. This interaction is shown briefly and is not very graphic. Hercules is implied to have sex with a woman, but nothing is shown. There are many passionate kisses between characters throughout the film. Some women wear low cut tops.

Drugs and Alcohol (None): None.

Language (Mild): The “D” word is said twice.

Disrespectful/ Imitable Behavior (Extreme): Despite being the central character, Hercules never seems to have a sense of morality and kills many people without remorse. There is a lot of murder and betrayal between several of the major characters, and characters are often cruel and rude to one another. Many people are murdered, killed, and executed throughout as well.

 Sad/ Unsettling Scenes (High): During the middle of the film, Hercules is believed to be dead, which causes many characters to show remorse. Queen Alcmene and Chiron are murdered by King Amphitryon, which is very sad for some of the main characters. The Princess Hebe expresses her remorse over having to marry Prince Iphicles, while being in love with Hercules.

Movie Topics Kids Might Have Questions About: Greek Mythology, Heroes, Villains, War, Murder, Betrayal, Family, Weapons, Kingdoms, Torture