Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie is moving up. He starred in last year’s wonderful thriller Headhunters, and now he’ll be making his American debut. He’s joined the cast of the upcoming Hercules movie, which already has Dwayne Johnson attached as the mythological Greek hero.
Now, that’s the good news. The bad news is pretty much everything else that has to do with this project. For one thing, it’s not based on any actual Greek myth, but a graphic novel that “reimagines” Hercules as a normal human being rather than a demigod, in a world bereft of gods or monsters. Apparently, “He leads a team of mercenaries on a job where all ominously is not what it appears.”
Okay, a men-on-a-mission movie set in ancient Greece? Great! But what’s the point of casting it with mythological figures whom you’ve de-mythologized? Remember how well that worked out for Troy? Exactly. For another thing, the movie is set to be directed by Brett Ratner. Gross.
Hennie has been cast as Tydeus, “a warrior devoted to Hercules who wields twin axes and is such a madman that he needs to be chained up at night when he sleeps.” Sweet. There’s a bright spot in all this. He could be cool in it, regardless of how the overall movie turns out.
