Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The way in which "Hercules the Avenger" was made is fascinating and incredible from a cinematic point of view. Using scenes from two earlier "Hercules" films, and then creating a fantastic new story and an entirely new film; one which is superior to the films it borrowed from. This is a dark entry in the series, free of any suggestion of comic relief. Greek mythology comes alive as Gia, the Sun Goddess, desires revenge on Hercules for slaying the Hydra. Imprisoning Hercules in a delirious, neon -colored Hades, she sends her own evil son, Anteo, to Earth, to annihilate the family of Hercules, as well as their Kingdom. Anteo is an incredible villain, cruel and sociopathic and full of hatred for all mankind. As Hercules tries to rescue his son from the evil spell of Gia, Anteo takes the throne of Hercules, murdering men, women and children without a thought. Why people have a problem with the way this movie was conceived, is beyond me. All that matters is the end result. "Hercules the Avenger" takes the finest elements from Mario Bava's "Haunted World," and excises everything that dragged that lesser film down, such as the silly characters, the slapstick comedy, and continuity errors. The end result is a colossal film, filled with vast sets, jaw-dropping special effects, and a hypnotic struggle between Good and Evil. This film is supposedly an allegory to the rise of Fascism in Italy. Some of the set pieces are incredible, like the destruction of the city, as well as an impressive lion hunt that culminates in the on-screen slaying of at least one real lion. This practice of killing animals on screen is thankfully, a thing of the past. But to see actual "real" lions in place of the ridiculous CGI that we are all used to, is quite a surreal experience. And the volcano eruption that wipes out the city makes the similar destruction in the recent "Pompeii" look like a joke. Honestly, this film is INSANE. I would love to watch this on a huge screen with surround sound. This is one film that deserves a Bluray restoration, complete with the original Italian audio. To date it is my favorite Hercules movie. Highest recommendation.

HERCULES THE AVENGER is a cheapo peplum adventure that rips off plenty of footage from two previous HERCULES outings, HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN and HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD. Needless to say, those two earlier films are much, much better, leaving this a curious relic more than anything else.Director Maurizio Lucidi handles the newly-filmed footage which sees Hercules attempting to save his beleaguered son as well as the people of Syracuse when they're menaced by the Earth goddess Gaia as well as her evil son (played by SUPERARGO actor Giovanni Cianfriglia). Inevitably, much of the storyline sees our hero engaging in oddly-familiar adventures underground.HERCULES THE AVENGER is really a film for cult fans only. It has its positives, such as a relatively fast pace for this genre and plenty of action, but the calibre of the acting is below par (Reg Park seems to be on particularly bad form) and the material is just too familiar to be fully enjoyable. Even the climactic fight employs a plot twist involving the strength of the villain which was already played out in one of the Steve Reeves HERCULES films I watched. Certainly a forgettable effort in a genre already loaded with them.

More or less "Reg Park's Greatest Herc Hits", since huge chunks of this film are lifted lock, stock and barrel from HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD and HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (both 1961). A wraparound story is concocted about Hercules questing for his missing son Xanthus, who is imprisoned in the supernatural domain of Gia the earth goddess. Meanwhile, Gia's evil son Antaeus — himself a demigod — impersonates Hercules and takes over the city-state of Syracuse with the help of its ambitious queen. Ruling as a mad, barbarous tyrant, Antaeus (Giovanni Cianfriglia) starts exiling and slaughtering people at whim, generally soiling the name of Hercules something fierce. Naturally, the real Herc takes umbrage at this...If you've already seen HAUNTED WORLD and/or CAPTIVE WOMEN then there's really no point in watching this one. All of AVENGER's monster action and FX scenes are borrowed from those films, only with different dialog dubbed in. Its main cheesy pleasure is Gianfriglia's Antaeus. A schoolyard bully in a he-man's body, he's such a cruel, arrogant jerk that you keep watching for the moment when Herc finally kicks his butt. He's at least good for a few laughs, as when barking commands such as, "Drive them into the Valley of Agony... and block the way out!"

Hercules' son gets severely wounded during a lion hunt that goes awry. Hercules (a solid and engaging performance by the beefy Reg Park) has to venture into an eerie and dangerous alternate dimension ruled by the evil and vengeful Gia the Earth Goddess (a deliciously wicked portrayal by Gia Sandri) and battle various monsters in order to save his son's soul. Meanwhile, Gia's equally nasty son Antaius (a perfectly hateful turn by Giovanni Cianfriglia) poses as Hercules and takes over an entire city as a cruel and ruthless tyrant. Director Maurizo Lucidi relates the engrossing story at a steady pace and maintains a serious tone throughout. This film begins a little slow, but really starts cooking once Hercules enters the misty and perilous subterranean spirit world: Rousing highlights include Hercules grappling with a humanoid lizard beast, Hercules climbing a giant gnarled tree, and Hercules being attacked by a bunch of creepy rotting zombies. Better still, the bizarre spirit world just reeks of spooky atmosphere (gotta love that persistent thick swirling fog!). The strenuous rough'n'tumble mano-a-mano major physical confrontation between Hercules and Antaius likewise totally rocks. Of course, we also get a big mondo destructo climactic volcanic eruption as well. Allvaro Mancori's crisp widescreen cinematography gives the movie an impressively expansive sense of scope. Ugo Filippini's robust, rousing score has a nifty majestic sweep to it. Okay, so this flick is an obvious cheapo cute'n'paste job that uses copious footage from both "Hercules in the Haunted World" and "Hercules and the Captive Women," but it's still an extremely lively and entertaining romp all the same.