Hercules Returns

Running Time: 82 minutes.
Media: File Download.

I must have seen this when I turned 17... which magically coincided with its release year of 1993. I'm not particularly sure why, but I think it's only because of my memories of how funny it seemed at the time that has made me see this movie yet again...

This movie is a send-up of the original movie, now bear with me here... Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincibili, (back in 1964), and as much of a cult following that Hercules Returns has, the film did provide not much more than a smile on my face with a number of the jokes that seemed to pile in one after another... Remember, I had last seen this movie about eighteen years ago and so I've matured considerably...

The movie focuses on Brad McBain, a film buff and employee of a large cinema chain, who quits his job to open a local cinema of his own. His ex-boss attempts to sabotage the opening night by switching film reels with an Italian copy and completely undubbed, so McBain (played by David Argue), his publicist Lisa (played by Mary Coustas) and Sprocket the projectionist (played by Bruce Spence) attempt to save the evening by dubbing over the original movie with their own voices...

...At least that's what we're led to believe... Des Mangan and Sally Patience are the once providing the majority of voices to the principal characters in the 1964 movie being shown and being dubbed. As wonderful as this was that such a feat of over-dubbing could be done... most of the references seemed to be more focused on the 1980's than any other time period and there seemed to be a lot of immature fart and sex jokes... which are great the first few that come around... but then seem to meld into one another, making them somewhat difficult to distinguish and therefore leaves you wondering whether there was any original humor. To be honest, I saw more talent in the over-dubbing made in Kung Pow: Enter the Fist wiht Steve Oedekerk.

I'd be curious to see how the original movie would review, but for now, I'm giving Hercules Returns 3½ stars...