Story
Hercules opens with a montage of scenes and images showing Hercules’s trials and tribulations from birth to adulthood. Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) is a demigod and the son of Zeus, King of the Gods. Hercules was given 12 arduous tasks to complete. Following the deaths of his wife and children, he despairs and joins a band of mercenaries.
The movie’s story begins with Hercules and his warrior companions in a village inn. Hercules’s companions include a mystical seer named Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), Hercules’s lifelong friend Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), Amazon warrior Atalanta (Ingrid Bolso Berdal), an axe-wielding mute named Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), and Hercules’s nephew Iolaus (Reece Ritchie). A beautiful and mysterious woman walks into the inn and pleads for Hercules’s help. The woman is Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson). Her father, Lord Cotys (John Hurt), is being threatened by an army of demons. Ergenia offers Hercules his weight in gold to help her father defeat the demon army. Hercules accepts Ergenia’s offer and sets off with his mercenaries.
After defeating the demon armies harassing Lord Cotys’s villagers, Hercules discovers that all is not as it seems. He decides to stay and find out what is really going on, a decision that leads to more trouble for him.
Themes
Violence
Hercules contains action violence, multiple deaths and graphic images of blood and gore. For example:
Sexual references
Hercules has occasional low-level sexual innuendoes. For example:
- After a man is saved from having his genitals impaled on a wooden stake, a second man says that girls would finally be safe from his attentions.
- Men often comment on buxom women.
- A woman says that there is nothing more convincing than ‘a pair of breasts’.
- A woman says to a man, ‘If only your manhood was as long as your tongue’. The man responds by implying that he is capable of satisfying women either way.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Hercules shows some use of substances. For example:
- In several festive scenes men and women drink from goblets.
- In one scene Hercules says that he was given drugged wine. There is an image of Hercules dropping a goblet and falling unconscious.
- A man inhales smoke so he can make prophecies. A second man says, ‘If you’re going to use those herbs at least share’.
Nudity and sexual activity
Hercules has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- A couple of scenes show Hercules and a woman kissing on the lips.
- Women wear revealing clothing.
- In one scene a woman walking away from Hercules drops her gown briefly and shows her naked back and buttocks.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
Hercules has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Hercules is a fantasy action adventure targeting older adolescents and adult fans of these kinds of movies. It has some entertaining comic relief and gives a new twist on an otherwise predictable story by presenting Hercules as a mortal adventurer and opportunist rather than an immortal demigod.
Hercules contains frequent violence and some disturbing images of killing and blood. It’s not suitable for children under 13 years, and we recommend parental guidance for children aged 13-15 years.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- People can’t escape their fate in life.
- You don’t have to be a demigod to be a hero – you just have to believe in yourself and have others believe in you.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the following:
- Selflessness: although Hercules and his companions are mercenaries, they repeatedly put themselves in danger to save others. One of Hercules’s followers dies after acting as a human shield to save the life of a young boy.
- Friendship and loyalty: Hercules and his companions show these values.