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Hercules | 2014 | PG-13 | - 5.7.5
Dwayne Johnson stars as the legendary Greek strongman, recruited by the king of Thrace to save the people from an opposing army. Also with, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Reece Ritchie, Joseph Fiennes, Tobias Santelmann, Peter Mullan and Rebecca Ferguson. Directed by Brett Ratner. [1:39]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - A woman places a child in its bed and her dress falls off her shoulder revealing most of her bare breast; the dress is sheer and reveals the woman's breasts through the fabric. Women wearing short tops and low skirts that reveal their bare abdomens and cleavage perform belly dances that include gyrating hips. A newborn infant is held in the air and we see his buttocks, abdomen, legs and genitals. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage in several scenes. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and her bare shoulders. A man wears a short leg covering that reveals his legs to the mid-thigh throughout the movie. A woman wears a short cropped top and short leg covering that reveals her abdomen and bare legs to the upper thigh; her top is in the form of breasts. Many men wear only short coverings from their wais to their thighs and their bare chests and abdomens are revealed covered with tribal tattoos.
► A husband and his wife hug and kiss tenderly. A woman drops her robe as she walks away from the camera and we see her bare back and buttocks.
► A woman pokes a man in the crotch as he takes aim with a bow and arrow (he hits his target). Two women swoon over a man as he is introduced to them. A man tells another man as he dangles over a sharp spike that if he had fallen on the spike (pointed toward his genitals), "The girls would finally be safe from your attentions." A woman remarks that there is nothing more convincing than "A pair of breasts." Several references are made to "exciting bondage," once by a young boy. A woman tells a man that "If only your manhood were as long as your tongue" and the man responds that he can "Satisfy either way."
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VIOLENCE/GORE 7 - Several men's heads are found on spears outside a village that has been attacked and we see smoldering rubble and many dead and bloody bodies (including children); a man touches one of the heads and licks the blood from his finger as a couple of the presumed dead stand and threaten an army and a man slams something in the forehead of one of the men throwing him back and to the ground; others charge swinging their blades, the army gets in formation and many more men with blades attack, and an extended fight scene ensues where many men are shot with arrows, stabbed with spears and crushed with a club (one man's arm is snapped with a club and we see it bend unnaturally); a man swings a whip made of the spine of something and it wraps around the necks of victims, and we see a man stabbed in the chest (he trembles and dies and we see blood on his face), a man is run over by a chariot (we hear a thud) and many men are cut down by a chariot with long blades sticking out of its side (we hear slashing), and when the fighting is over we see many dead bodies on the ground (some are bloody) and we see blood on the faces and shields of the soldiers.
► Centaurs are shown ravaging a village and we see the dead and bloody bodies of many villagers lying on the ground. Two armies prepare to fight and one army on horseback charges the other: many men and their horses are struck by arrows and they fall (no blood is evident), other horses are speared and their riders are thrown (no blood is evident), a chariot flips and throws the riders who get up and continue to fight with arrows and a spear (we hear a lot of crunching and grunting), many flaming arrows are launched and one man stands with his arms spread ready to be struck (he is not), one man on horse back chargers toward another man and says, "To kill a snake, cut off its head" and when he arrives the man lifts him and his horse into the air and slams them to the ground (we see the man with a bloody face lying on the ground). Several men tie another man with a rope and hang him over a sharp spike and the rope is set on fire; another man approaches and threatens the group to either leave or die and strikes several with a giant club as they move toward him, more approach and his company attacks them with arrows and swords and they are dispatched (we see the men fall and hear crunching and slashing but not much blood is evident).
► A man is struck in the chest by an arrow, he breaks it off and continues to fight many men; he is struck by multiple arrows while taking out several more men and he eventually falls to the ground with many arrows sticking out of his chest (he coughs blood and dies). A man runs from another man and pleads for his life; the chasing man throws the running man into a chair and stabs him through the chest (we hear a crunch, see blood drip from the man's nose and he dies).
► Five people fight an army and we see several thrown off ledges while others are stabbed and struck; flaming cauldrons are overturned and dump flaming liquid on the army (we see many of them engulfed in flames and hear them screaming); a giant statue is toppled onto an army and the pieces break apart and crush the men (we see one man taken away by the head of the statue and hear him scream).
► Three wolves attack a man and bite him (we see the teeth breaking the skin and blood pours); the man throws one wolf against a rock wall killing it, tears the mouth of another and stabs the third in the temple with a tooth (we see blood). We see wolves attacking a woman and her children (a silhouette shows the woman being taken down) and we see the aftermath of the woman and children covered with blood and lying in pools of blood. A man fights with a multi-headed serpent and cuts off its heads as it lunges at him. A man runs up a tree and away from a huge boar as it tears the tree down and the man strikes it with a huge club. A giant lion threatens a man and he shoots it with an arrow that bounces off its hide; the lion leaps onto the man and the man grabs it by the mouth and breaks its jaw (we hear a crack and see it break open.
► A woman is pulled out of a cell and placed in a stock where she is strapped and a man sharpens a blade to cut off her head; we see him raise the blade and he is struck down before it reaches its target. A man using a bone whip wraps it around another man's neck and pulls him to the ground (we later see a bloody wound around his neck), raises a club in the air and another man stabs the attacker in the back (we hear a crunch). A woman shoots arrows and hits two men before many other armed men encircle her and four others forcing them to lower their weapons. A man chained to a wall is struck and we see his bloody face. A boy is held by a man with a knife to his throat.
► A man imagines a multi-headed wolf eating the dead bodies of his wife and children; the wolf then lunges toward the man and he holds a spear in the air (there is nothing there). A young boy follows a snarling and whimpering sound in a barn and finds a man chained to the wall; the man lunges at the boy growling and snapping like an animal (the boy is unharmed). A woman shoots two arrows at two guards and pins their helmets to a wall behind them. A man strikes another man in the abdomen with an ax and he is unharmed (he's demonstrating an armor). A man and a woman hold their hands over open flames as a competition (neither appears burned, but they both complain of the pain). A man charges a shield wall and is thrown to the ground after running into it. A man charges a shield wall, growling fiercely, and breaks through it.
► A man takes a young boy from his mother and holds the boy by the hair (the boy cries and yells). Several people throw stones at blood-covered men locked in chains and paraded into a village; one man is kicked to the ground a couple of times.
► We see a dead woman and children lying in pools of blood in several flashback scenes. Several flashback scenes show a woman screaming and blood splattering on a wall. A man carries a bag that drips with blood and when he opens it we see the bloody severed heads of serpents with the severed heads of men inside their mouths. We see a newborn infant covered with blood and liquid. A man is shown with deep scars on his face and he does not speak. We see wounded and sick people as a woman treats them (some blood is evident).
► A man counts the number of bodies after a battle and jokes, "Minus the headless ones." We hear about a child being born half human and half god and that a female god was jealous of the child's mother and wanted him dead. A woman tells her young son to stay away from a man because "He who deals in violence attracts violence." A man talks about training men to "survive a war." A man talks about going to "Hades where all the fun people are." A man tells another man that he must "Confront the beast that haunts you." A man talks about seeing how and when he will die in several scenes. A man says, "A spear of flame will pierce my heart." A woman talks about her husband having been poisoned. A woman talks about her husband dying.
► A man eats meat off a bone ravenously. A man wears a lion's pelt with the head still intact and the teeth pointing out of its gaping mouth.
LANGUAGE 5 - At least 1 F-word, 6 scatological terms, 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (sorcerer, boring, mercenaries, child killer, crazy, monster).
SUBSTANCE USE - A man inhales smoke and has visions that predict the future and another man tells him, "If you are going to use those herbs at least share." People drink a type of alcohol in a gathering place, people drink (presumably wine) and eat at a celebration, and a man drinks wine and collapses as we hear him talk about having been drugged.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - The myth of Hercules, the 12 Labors of Hercules, legends, mortality, heroes, jealousy, Greek gods, mercenaries, ambition, dreams, fate, greed, alliances.
MESSAGE - To become a hero you must do daring things.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
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We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.