Hercules (Dwayne
Johnson) is the leader of a band of mercenaries comprising the
spear-wielding prophet Amphiaraus (Ian McShane),
the knife-throwing thief Autolycus (Rufus Sewell),
the feral warrior Tydeus (Aksel
Hennie), the Amazon archer Atalanta(Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and his nephew storyteller Iolaus (Reece
Ritchie). Hercules is said to be the demigod son of Zeus, who completed the
legendary Twelve Labors, only to be betrayed by Hera, who drove him
insane and caused him to murder his wifeMegara (Irina Shayk)
and their children during a visit to King Eurystheus (Joseph
Fiennes). Hercules has since rejected Zeus and chosen to live as mortal,
and is tormented by visions of Cerberus.
One day,
Hercules and his men are approached by Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson), on behalf of her
father, Lord Cotys (John Hurt), who wants Hercules to train the armies of
Thrace to defend the kingdom from bloodthirsty warlord Rheseus (Tobias
Santelmann). Hercules accepts after he and his men are offered his weight
in gold, and the band is welcomed to Thrace by King Cotys and General Sitacles
(Peter
Mullan), leader of the Thracian army. After training the army, Hercules and
his men lead them into battle against local barbarians as a test of their
strength. After the barbarians are defeated, Hercules and Sitacles confront
Rheseus and his soldiers, believed to be Centaurs, but soon proven to be men on
horseback. Rheseus is defeated and taken back to Thrace as a prisoner, where he
is tortured and humiliated. Noticing that Ergenia has taken pity to him,
Hercules confronts her and finds out Rheseus was merely retaliating against
Lord Cotys' aggressive attempts to expand his kingdom, and, although Ergenia
doesn't agree with his methods, she abides to them for the sake of her son,
Arius, Lord Cotys' successor to the throne.
After
receiving their reward, the mercenaries are ready to leave, but Hercules
decides to stay behind to stop Cotys, and all but Autolycus choose to follow
him. However, they are overpowered and captured by Sitacles and his men. While
chained, Hercules is confronted by King Eurystheus, who is in league with Lord
Cotys, and reveals that he drugged Hercules the night his family died, viewing
him as a threat to his power. Hercules' family was in fact killed by three
vicious wolves sent by Eurystheus, resulting in Hercules' constant
hallucinations of Cerberus. When Lord Cotys orders Ergenia to be executed for
her betrayal, Hercules is encouraged by Amphiaraus to embrace his destiny and
breaks free of his chains, saving Ergenia and slaying the wolves with his bare
hands. Hercules releases the prisoners, including Rheseus, and then confronts
King Eurystheus, impaling him with his own dagger. He is attacked by Sitacles,
who is then stabbed by Iolaus.
Outside,
Hercules and his forces battle Lord Cotys and his army. Arius is taken hostage,
but then rescued by Autolycus, who has decided to return to help his friends.
In the ensuing battle, Tydeus is mortally wounded while protecting Arius, but
fights on slaughtering numerous Thracian soldiers. Hercules then pushes a
statue of Hera from its foundations and uses it to crush Lord Cotys and many of
his soldiers. The surviving soldiers bow to Hercules, and Arius takes the
throne, with Ergenia at his side, while Hercules and his men depart in search
of other adventures.
As the
credits roll, an animated retelling of the Twelve Labors shows how Hercules
accomplished these feats with the help of his companions.
Post a Comment