HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS-HERCULES AND THE CIRCLE OF FIRE (1994) ** Well worth seeing just for the incongruity of having Kevin Sorbo, Anthony Quinn, and Tawny Kitaen in the same frame. Sorbo's Herculean efforts were one of my favorite tv shows, but the film doesn't play to its strengths. For one thing where the show mocked itself, its cast, and mythology in a way too friendly to offend, the film seems to at least consider taking itself seriously. Where the show floated a lot of ridiculous demigods into pithy scenes of pettiness and high-powered indignation, the film offers only a strangely powerless (but reeking of pathos) Quinn as Zeus. I think there's actually less (humorous-think chickens falling on people's heads) violence in the film than a standard show, and way less plot. The plot here is mostly that Sorbo and Tawny go on a long trip to a fabled ring of fire, which turns out to hardly be enough to roast a marshmallow on. I can't fault the casting, but they all seem confused in thinking that they're making a film about Greek mythology-the direction should have been an absurdist comedic drama with metaphysical soap opera pretensions.
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