f it's mythic fantasy, Hallmark Entertainment seems destined to tackle it. Its latest endeavor is the legendary story of Hercules, who was half god, half man. However, NBC's version of Hercules opens up before the superhero is even conceived.
Alcmene (Perkins), the princess of Thebes and high priestess of the supreme goddess, Hera, accidentally offends both Hera and the most powerful god of all, Zeus. Later that night, Alcmene is raped by a man she believes to be her husband, Amphitryon (Dalton), who has just returned from war. However, she soon comes to believe she was violated by a vengeful Zeus and finds herself the mother of twin boys, one the son of Amphitryon, the other the son of Zeus.
Alcmene has no love for Zeus' son, who is given the name of Hercules. Despite her attempts to kill the infant, he survives and grows into a clumsy young man. Oddly, it is only Amphitryon who comes to love Hercules. When Hercules falls for Megara (Leeanna Walsman), she ends up pregnant, but spurns Hercules and tells her father the union was not consensual. Hercules is sent away and comes under the tutelage of Kiron, a centaur.
As Hercules (Telfer) grows into adulthood, he determines to build his strength. When Hercules saves the king from the multiple-headed hydra monster, he is given the hand of Megara, who has already given birth to Hercules' three sons. However, Alcmene convinces Megara to drug Hercules on their wedding night and trick him into murdering his own children. Believing it is Hera's will, Megara does as she is asked.
A distraught Hercules doesn't want to live after realizing what he has done. However, Zeus appears to have other plans for him. Hercules is given five mythic labors to redeem himself. With his companion, the bard Linus (Astin), by his side, Hercules journeys from the Stymphalian Swamps to face the harpies that named him, to the flaming waves of the River Styx and into the depths of hell.
Melodrama stifles the fantasy
Robert Halmi Sr. and Jr. once again take on the stuff of mythic miniseries, only this time they achieve it with less success than in their previous endeavors (Merlin, The 10th Kingdom). The three-hour movie "event" spends so much time pre-Hercules on Alcmene's machinations that the story starts out convoluted and never quite recovers. Yes, there are some fine special effects and some cool moments, but Alcmene's constant manipulations root this story in melodrama instead of mythology.
Elizabeth Perkins and Timothy Dalton are fine actors and do as much with their overwrought material as possible. However, while no one could blame the women in the tale for being cranky—considering that every time they have sex they get pregnant—Hercules is far into the story before any of it makes sense. The journey becomes unsatisfying, with the odd mix of politics, religion and our favorite legendary hero.
As for Paul Telfer, who shows up a third of the way through the tale as the adult Hercules, he's physically perfect for the role. Unfortunately, just about any actor would have trouble mixing the fantastic action involved in Hercules' labors with the melodrama that takes place back in the palace.
Still, the biggest surprise is that while some of the special effects are wonderful, such as the hydra, the harpies and the Nemean lion, not all of the effects come off as well. The Golden Hind, which was created completely with CGI, looks like a cartoon, and the movement of the centaurs never really works.
It all comes down to the fact that Hercules is a story that hasn't really decided what it wants to be. Gods don't pop in and out, a la Kevin Sorbo's Hercules. In fact, they don't show up at all, which is a bit disconcerting, considering their worshipers come off as religious fanatics. And far too much time is spent with the palace plotting. If it weren't for the fantastic beasties that our hero faces, this story wouldn't even be fantasy. And a story called Hercules should be fantasy.
