Reviews

Arnold Schwarzenegger, now the Governor of California, started his illustrious movie career in this film. He was credited as Arnold Strong, because it was suggested that it would be a more suitable name for him.

Hercules in New York is the story of a man born of the gods who travels from Mount Olympus to New York due to his current lack of excitement. He instead finds a female companion and ends up with a rival in the form of a fellow body-builder.

The most important thing to remember when watching this film is that you must not take it seriously. Arnold obviously was still perfecting his use of the English language (some argue that he has yet to do so) and his errors make for the some of the films funniest scenes. The film is supposed to be comedic, as shown by the track and field events, but it's Arnold who makes the film as funny as it is. No film can be so bad it's funny, because laughter is evidence of enjoyment. It's one of those films you love to hate. Definitely one for a rainy day!

LOOK OUT FOR: The boyfriend of Arnold's female companion. He was also the track and field contender and seems to take losing in sport (and perhaps love) pretty well!

LOOK OUT FOR: The bear. Made the film cheaper than you could ever think possible.

I can't say enough about this film! Got to be a top five contender. The only point I want to make is this - if you have seen the film and not read the book, read the book! The film actually enhances the book, because you find yourself reading in Christian Bales' voice. It sounds strange, I know, but it happens. I really enjoyed reading the book again. The choice of scenes to leave out and those to briefly touch upon was obviously deliberated. I feel that the right decision was made. The film isn't short, but it doesn't drag either. My favourite scene is where he tells Evelyn that he has to return some videotapes. Bale gives someone off-screen the ultimate don't-mess-with-me look, for no apparent reason. It's the small things he does in the performance which truly makes it one of the best of all time! I really hope a special edition is released after the new Batman film launches him to where he belongs. A true masterpiece of an adaptation. Superb!

Many people would not agree with the maximum rating being awarded to this film. I should agree with them, the one reason I don't is that you can clearly see this film attempted to be great in all areas. I feel sorry for them, they carried the story well and related back to a lot from the original stories. They would have succeeded if it weren't for the fact that they made a couple of casting errors. The lead hero and villain were good, Tim Curry always boosts a film and the female wasn't that bad really. The rest should have been reconsidered, however. Sir Ian McKellen is capable of so much more than he delivered, which is surprising. Even so, he should not have been chosen for that role. The one problem this film really has is that it chose to use a character created in times when there weren't any heroes really. It is nearly impossible to understand these times and therefore the impact of the character was lost on the audience this time around. It is a real shame, because the shot of The Shadow at the top of the stairs in the hotel is one of the best you will find of any hero in film. If you are aware of the original Shadow articles, this film will probably already be in your collection. It does a great job and should not have flopped to the extent it did. I would strongly encourage anyone considering watching this film to rent it. If you like the superhero genre, which is on the rise, you will love this film. Cliché, yes, but true.