Don't listen to the negative reviews

A Major Disappointment

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Right off the bat I have to say this is not about Hercules but about the SON OF Hercules Ercole/Argolese. Most likely "son of" refers to a follower of Hercules. Like father, like son - Argolese is like his "father" so I guess it is a Hercules movie in a way.This one does have some light comedy in it - including the man in the bear suit scenes. Babar gives us some comical lines and looks - the real comic relief of the film.Not only does this peplum action-adventure "Hercules" film give us some light comedy, it is a fantasy film since we have a witch and a dragon. It does feel like a Dungeons and Dragons movie in it's way. And it has all the makings for a film that I enjoy. This one might be my favorite "Hercules" film from the 60s series.6/10

Hercules (Dan Vadis, who also played the role in "The Triumph of Hercules") saves a beautiful princess and, as a reward, he is offered her hand in marriage (which is great for both of them given that they're both nice people) but is also asked to help the royal family against their enemies. Next thing you know Herc is up to his neck in trouble rescuing his fiancé's entire people from an evil subterranean empire. An okay entry in the sword & sandal genre with some decent atmosphere (and some stock footage from the first Steve Reeves Hercules film), Dan Vadis is perhaps the film's greatest asset in addition to the beautiful women. Some may not like him for not being Steve Reeves or Reg Park, but the very nimble and agile lightning bruiser Vadis brings a Burt Lancaster level of energy to what would have otherwise been some fairly generic fight scenes, and he looks quite larger than life battling his way through an army of henchmen. And while he may have had to kill a lion (which looks pretty good since it really is Vadis wrestling the lion) he is nice enough to save a bear that got in his way. Weirdly enough, when the film came out in America it was re-dubbed as "Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness" with Herc being changed to Argolese, son of the Herc. An unusual choice to say the least.

Hercules (Dan Vadis) strangles a lion to save Princess Telca (Spela Rozin). Her grateful father promises him the hand of his daughter, but only if Hercules can slay a dragon, too. Hercules falls in love with Telca's beautiful blue eyes and decides it's worth trying. He makes the acquaintance of a witch in a cave. After a few evil 'Ha! Ha!' laughs, she provides Hercules with a spear that can kill the dragon - actually a clumsy dinosaur who lives in a remote valley, doing no harm. When Hercules returns, Telca and the king have been abducted by people from the 'Land of Darkness' who always need victims for their blood rituals. Of course, Hercules follows the raiders, determined to rescue the princess. Evil queen Melissa has other plans, though...Colourful adventure with a lot of action and just enough comic relief. Sometimes movies of this genre drag on and on with pathos and too much dialog, but this is not the case here. It was good fun watching it. I'd like to see the Italian original though, because the American version seems to be re-edited and several minutes shorter.

Sword and Sandal films are perhaps the most nerve-wracking movies to try and track down. They usually have numerous different titles, versions and edits. This one is a prime example. Many of the reviews here trashing it for "stealing scenes" from other flicks (including the iconic 1958 Hercules starring Steve Reeves) are actually reviewing the more commonly available US TV Edit by Joseph E Levine which did in fact replace scenes from this flick with that previous one, which he also did US distribution for. In such a case when you are literally viewing half the movie, not just the edits but the chopping off of half of the screen to get a cinemascopic picture to fit to a 4x3 TV, one's assessment can be unfairly ravaged because you are only seeing fragments of what a movie is meant to be! I was fortunate enough to catch the original and superior Italian version which is likely to please anyone who finds a title like "Hercules The Invincible" tantalizing enough to merit a watch in the first place. Although the Italian version is missing the groovy narration added to the US Version - guaranteed to take you back to your childhood living room floor in front of the old TV set - it is an overall better viewing experience.