Bezenby In yet another brain-frying exercise in special effects, glistening pecs, and men without kecks, Lou Ferrigno must this time track down seven thunderbolts that have been stolen from Zeus by Hera and some of her buddies, but don't try thinking about the plot because I tried that and am not sure of my kid's names any longer. Hmm. Shame.What's not a shame is Luigi Cozzi letting loose that crazy imagination of his in and epic avalanche of insane cosmology. Want nearly every scene in the film full of those cartoony eighties effects? Then this is your film (and so is the first one too).After Herc has pummeled quite a few weird monsters into submission, I was kind of worried that he had by that point only thrown one thing into space, but luckily for me Luigi set the entire last act in space! Also, the madness continued until my wife asked "Why is Godzilla fighting King Kong in space?" Words cannot convey that scene. This one stars Venantino Venantini (City of the Living Dead, Seven Deaths in the Cats eye - check out his crazy wig!), William Berger (Dial Help, Strike Commando), Claudio Cassineli (Mountain of the Cannibal God, What have they Done to Your daughters), Margit Newton (Zombie Creeping Flesh, The Final Executioner) and Maria Rosaria Ommagio (Nightmare City, The Cop in Blue Jeans).You don't need gore or boobs for a good Italian film, if this film had that, the world would truly explode or perhaps just fly about the places like it does in this film.

Vomitron_G The first "Hercules" (1983) by Luigi Cozzi was a completely incomprehensible psychedelic disjointed mess, unrivaled by any swords & sorcery outing at the time (though I have to admit Lucio Fulci's "Conquest" comes mighty close). In 1985 the unthinkable happens: "Hercules" gets a sequel. And fans of the first one will not be disappointed, because it delivers the same brand of incoherent over-the-top extravagant entertainment as the first film did. You'll be scratching your head numerous times once again with what all kind of adventures our muscular mythical hero gets into this time. Between all the mind-boggling shenanigans, a fairly simple plot can be spotted: The gods send Hercules (once again played by Lou "Hulk" Ferrigno) back to earth again, for he has to locate & reclaim the Seven Thunderbolts, which have been stolen by other more evil gods. Hercules never really has to search for them; he's simply lead on one "mission" after another, battling various creatures (amongst them some fierce & ridiculous-looking mud-zombie things and even one of the Gorgons, a sister of Medusa) alongside two beautiful babes. Every time he defeats a creature, he'll find one of the Seven Thunderbolts within. For some reason the villainous King Minos (William Berger, reprising his role from the first film) gets resurrected by the evil gods too, only to decide he wants those Seven Thunderbolts for himself. Or well, something like that. Or just see him blabbering on about science being the way of all things. The final battle between King Minos & Hercules (in space!) has to be seen to be believed (lots of flashy animated effects, including a giant gorilla vs. dinosaur). If I wouldn't know any better, I'd say both "Hercules" movies were conceived & produced under the influence of some very strong LSD, because that's what they look like: a wondrously cuckoo fantasy trip on acid. Italians making films in the '80s; you gotta love 'em.

bensonmum2 The Adventures of Hercules has to be one of the lamest excuses for a movie I've yet run across. You would have to look far and wide to find anything that approaches the level of ineptness on display in this movie. Acting – Bad. Editing – Bad. Direction – Bad. Special Effects – Bad and Laughable. Plot – Bad. Lighting – Bad. Cinematography – Bad. Costume Design – Bad and Silly. Everything Else – Bad. Watching The Adventures of Hercules is about as enjoyable as a root canal. Even for a fan of bad movies, it's a real endurance test. This is one for either masochists or Lou Ferrigno completists (if any exist).Eight things I learned from watching The Adventures of Hercules: 1. If you don't have the budget for real special effects, rotoscope a scene from the previous movie. It will look great - trust me.2. When on a quest to recover Zeus' thunderbolts, take time for frequent stops to oil-up you body. It worked for Ferrigno and his two Amazon companions.3. Any sword fight, use of magic, and just about all other day to day activities in ancient Greece created a sound very similar to a game of Pac Man or Asteroids.4. Some of the ancient Greek gods dressed like extras from Star Wars.5. If you need to pad your crappy movie's runtime, extend the title sequence by adding Star Trek style credits and throw in some overly grandiose music. It also helps if you've got a previous movie to pull scenes from.6. Fight scenes move along much smoother if the bad guys attack Hercules one at a time.7. William Berger did anything for money.8. I didn't think it was possible, but The Adventures of Hercules makes the first film, Hercules (1983), look like an Academy Award winner.

Jojosh the Pi Aya! If you are looking for special effects that are 10-20 years before its time, this is it. The glowing lightning bolts, fireballs, etc. look like they came from a cheesy 70's sci-fi flick. And yes, Hercules really grows; he's not being pushed on a cart closer to the camera!