Hercules (1983)

Director: Luigi Cozzi

Writer: Luigi Cozzi

Composer: Pino Donaggio

Starring: Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, Brad Harris, Ingrid Anderson, William Berger, Rossana Podesta, Mirella D'Angelo, Bobby Rhodes, Gianni Garko, Yehuda Efroni, Delia Boccardo, Claudio Cassinelli

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Legend Lives!

Plot: Hercules must rescue Princess Cassiopea from her kidnappers, fight off grotesque laser-breathing monsters and in one case, jettison a giant bear up into space where it becomes Ursa Major, the Big Dipper or "Great Bear" constellation.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

You know what the problem is having nearly every scene shot on a sound stage is?  The film suffers from claustrophobia.   There are several outdoor scenes in this picture but a lot of them are accompanied by things like matte paintings and other optical effects which take away from the niceness of being outside.  The effects in general are clunky but they do throw in some stop motion animation which I always dig.  Hell, even Pino Donaggio's score feels thin, adding to the closed in nature of the film.  The performances aren't so bad but they feel hampered by the abundance of effects with lighting and everything else.  It's too bad Ferrigno's voice is dubbed.  I kept thinking of that Bill Murray skit from SNL where he plays Hercules out of shape.  I'd rather have that voice.  There's a sequel out there that's begging me to watch it.  Someday.  But for now I'm looking forward to the Dwayne Johnson HERCULES coming out in a few months.  I'll be there.