Hercules (2014)

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity

Appropriate for: Ages 13+
Genre: Action Adventure War
Length: 98 minutes
Year of Release: 2014

The movie begins with a legend. Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. Half man and half god, the man was amazingly gifted in strength and skill in battle. From a young age, Hercules was hated and hunted by the goddess Hera, but, even as a young boy, he foiled attempts at his life with his great skill. As an adult, his power only grew, and his completion of the twelve labors—among them slaying the hydra and killing a lion with his bare hands—brought him fame far and wide.

But that’s just the legend.

The Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) we meet in the film may have legendary strength, but it turns out that the real Hercules is just a man with a troubled past and a mercenary who fights for gold. Is he the son of Zeus? Is he half god? Not even he really knows. But the combination of his incredible strength and the stories of his past have earned him a name—a name that is feared among his enemies. That name has also made him and his team of mercenaries desirable to anyone who is looking to hire out a quick fighting job. These jobs have been stacking up for Hercules and his five fellow fighters, and each of them only need one more big bag of gold before they can retire in style. They just need to wait for the next job offer to come around.

It arrives soon enough, coming from the mouth of a princess (Rebecca Ferguson), the daughter of the King of Thrace. She and her father need help defeating a merciless warlord, and Hercules and his five companions are the people they need to give themselves the upper hand. All Hercules and his team have to do is whip the Thracian army into shape and defeat the warlord. After that, they can take their gold and live happily ever after. Simple, right? At first, it’s nothing that Hercules and his friends can’t handle. When things start to smell fishy, though, Hercules and his companions realize that the situation may not have been as simple as they expected—that, just maybe, they’ve ended up on the wrong side of the fight.

Based on a Radical Comics graphic novel, this film is all about the action. Consequently, the plot and character development are on the low side while violence, death, and gore are very high. The heroes of the movie have the skill and physique of the Avengers and fight with the intensity of characters from The Lord of the Rings. Needless to say, there are a lot of fighting and a large number of battle scenes. Throughout the film, Hercules repeatedly takes out multiple men with a single blow of his club, other characters are stabbed or killed by arrows, rotting heads are impaled on poles, warriors are run over by chariots or burnt to death in fires, and dead, bloody bodies—even the bodies of children—lay in piles on the battlefields. One character swipes his finger across a rotting body and licks the gore off of his finger. There are also a number of frightening mythological creatures, such as a three-headed wolf, a multi-headed snakelike water creature, and an enormous lion—all equipped with razor-sharp teeth and freaky eyes. The enemies that Hercules and his followers battle in one scene are tattooed all over and have a creepy green tint to their skin. The combination of that and their orc-like battle cries makes them especially frightening. In all, the level of blood and gore in this film is reminiscent of the 2011 movie The Eagle, but it lasts a lot longer. The violence alone makes this film inappropriate for young viewers.

The offensive language is also a cause for disappointment to families—and, unfortunately, the expletives are not in Greek. The words “b****rd,” “f***,” “c***,” “s***,” and “h***” are used about once or twice each.

To top it off, the movie also contains a few objectionable scenes and suggestive comments. The most offensive scene appears in one of Hercules’ tormented dreams—a very brief shot of his wife’s bare backside, from the knees up. It was absolutely unnecessary to the plot and to the movie in general. Even if that weren’t true, however, guys who choose to watch this movie would still do well to cover their eyes during this brief scene. There is also a scene at the beginning of the film in which Hercules’ mother is wearing a very revealing, low-cut dress that is nearly transparent in the front, resulting in a lot of cleavage. During a celebratory feast, a few scantily dressed belly-dancers sway to music. Low-cut, breezy dresses appear to be the norm for most female characters throughout the film. The one female warrior in the movie, however, is dressed for battle. But her choice of armor isn’t exactly what I would pick to wear in a fight. Her outfit consists of something like a mini-skirt and a short top that leaves her belly and lower back uncovered. Several characters also make some jokes referring to “breasts” and other private parts of the body. We also see the naked Hercules as a newborn baby, and the adult Hercules is shirtless for most of the film.

Although the worldview presented in this movie is certainly anti-biblical, I would not consider the worldview issues to be a reason for skipping this movie. Hercules introduces a strange mix of the ancient Greek view of the world and modern existentialism. One character is a seer and continually talks about visions of the future that the gods reveal to him. He also makes a reference to the Oracle at Delphi. In another part of the movie, a warrior assures his fellow fighters that they have no need to worry about dying in battle because they will join the souls of heroes in Elysium. Later, a character adds, “Or, if you’re lucky, you’ll go to Hades where all the fun people are.” While we see and hear characters praying to and speaking about the gods, characters also assert that humans “have it within themselves to write their own legends.” In the closing lines of the movie, one character says, “You don’t need to be a demi-god to be a hero. You just need to believe you’re a hero.” The movie asserts mankind’s autonomy—his power to make himself into something great. This message in the film is the perfect opportunity for discussion about man’s true capabilities. According to the biblical worldview, the life of a human is fleeting, and his powers are oh-so limited. Isaiah 40:6-8 says, “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Those who hope in the Lord, however, are the people who will find true strength. God is “the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth… He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:28-29). Compared to God, all men are like grass. They will all wither and pass away. Yes—even Hercules.

Despite the objectionable content, I would probably still consider this movie worthy to rent. It’s nothing sensational and nothing incredible in the realm of acting or filmmaking, but it still has some exciting fight scenes, interesting plot twists, and discussion-worthy elements. However, this movie is not for everyone—especially for those who like to avoid blood and gore. Males should also be cautioned against choosing this movie due to the brief scene of nudity. If you enjoy battles, however, and are willing to close your eyes during a scene or two, view this movie with a mind ready to face the issues it presents and ready to consider whether a human can truly be a hero on his own.

The Maze Runner

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Appropriate for: Ages 13+

Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi

Length: 376 pages

Year of Publication: 2009

His name is Thomas. That’s all he can remember.

He is riding in a dark, clanging, swaying elevator, barreling upward. He doesn’t know where he’s going or where he came from. His only memory is of his name. When the elevator stops and the doors open, Thomas emerges and finds himself in a large courtyard surrounded on all four sides by enormous stone walls. He is gruffly greeted by few dozen teenagers—all boys. And so begins his life in the Glade.

Surrounding the Glade, behind the enormous stone walls, is a labyrinth of mazes. Every morning, when the doors of the maze open, runners enter and search for a way out. Every night, the doors close and strange, deadly creatures called Grievers roam the maze. If the runners don’t make it to the doors by nightfall, they are trapped in the maze until the morning with no way out, making them easy targets for the Grievers. It’s been two years, and, still, no one has found an exit. No one has ever survived a night in the maze either. Not until Thomas arrives, that is.

Thomas is more curious than any of the boys who arrived before him. And, even before he knows much about the Gladers’ situation, he finds himself experiencing an inexplicable desire to be a Maze Runner. He doesn’t understand it, but the Maze and the Glade almost seem familiar to him, and he feels like he was sent there to do something big. 

Things start getting weird soon after he shows up. When an unconscious girl arrives in the elevator, carrying a note that says she’s the last newbie they’ll ever get, Thomas realizes that, whatever he was sent there to do, he needs to figure it out and do it fast.

This first book in James Dashner’s Maze Runner trilogy is full of mystery and excitement, aimed at readers who enjoy books such as The Hunger Games trilogy and the Divergent series. The story contains some valuable themes such as the importance of teamwork, loyalty, and friendship. It also lauds self-sacrifice and second chances. However, the author’s attention is on presenting an engaging plot to engage readers, not on developing these themes.

The writing style is easy to read. Although the plot starts out a bit slow, the chapters are short and the action picks up after a while, making the material manageable for even less experienced readers. The PG-13 content, however, poses some problems for less mature audiences.

The book is not as intense as The Hunger Games, but it still contains those life-or-death situations, creepy creatures, and somewhat gory descriptions that have become standard in post-apocalyptic literature. Some of the main sources of danger and conflict in the book are the Grievers—huge slimy creatures with retractable mechanical arms used to “sting” the Gladers. Throughout the book, some boys are attacked, injured, and even killed by these Grievers. A number of boys are “stung” by the Grievers and survive, but their bodies go through a troubling and frightening process called “the Changing” in order to recover. The author’s description of “the Changing” could be especially disturbing to young readers. There is also some strife between the Gladers themselves that leads to some PG-13 content. One boy attacks another and attempts to kill him. Another Glader explains how one boy was killed by being sliced in half. Someone is shot in the head with an arrow, and someone else is killed by a knife in the chest. The book is cluttered with other such frightening and bloody descriptions that make the novel out of the question for more sensitive readers.

In addition to the violence, there is a bit of inappropriate language and toilet humor. Many—although not all—of the bad words are actually terms made up by the Gladers to substitute for certain frequently used expletives. However, the made-up words are still used by the boys for the purpose of degrading or insulting people, and the fact that they are made up doesn’t necessarily make them less offensive. Even the way that the characters talk to each other is so frequently filled with stinging sarcasm and implied insults that it made me wonder how the Gladers ever even function as a community. Although it can be funny at times, the manner of their conversations gets a little numbing and annoying after a while.

I decided to read this book after seeing a trailer for the movie that is coming out in September 2014. While I enjoyed reading it and had fun being immersed in the mystery and adventure of the story, I now kind of wish that I had waited and only watched the movie. If you read the first book, you almost have to read the next two if you want your questions answered, and all three of them are hard to put down. They absorb your time without really offering you any enrichment. Ultimately, The Maze Runner is perfect for teens and young adults who are looking for a fun and exciting summer read. If you choose to read the series, however, don’t let it be the only books on your summer book list. Reading too many books like this is like eating cotton candy without having any real food: it can be extremely unhealthy. This book isn’t toxic to the soul or something to be avoided completely. However, if you read it, make a point to balance out its “processed sugar” with another book that is both tough and wholesome.