Villages left razed. Innocent lives taken. Green bodies scattered on the ground with the distinct scent of burning flesh in the air.

This is what meets the mighty Hercules’ army while marching to intercept Rheseus. It is all over. Everyone is dead. Hercules trots over to a nearby corpse to judge when the damage had occurred. Suddenly, the eyes of the corpses flash open, and their bodies rise.

It was a trap. Hercules and his army find themselves “surrounded by bloodthirsty barbarians.

Donning the head of the Nemean lion as a helmet and baring only a loincloth, Dwayne Johnson sets out as a legendary mercenary in the movie “Hercules.” Directed by Brett Ratner, the action-packed film is a representation of the graphic novel “Hercules: The Thracian Wars.”

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, Reece Ritchie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Joseph Fiennes and John Hurt, “Hercules” slammed into theaters July 25, making it the second Hercules film to be released in 2014.

“Dwayne Johnson certainly attempts to provide, and to an extent, creates the emotions of an ordinary human, but the plot fails him,” said Early College junior Pratham Chhabria. “The director’s use of extensive computer graphics certainly indicate technical prowess, but he fails in his direction to provide a new take on an old story.”

Portraying Hercules as an ordinary man with inhuman strength, the movie focuses on a traveling mercenary accompanied by a group of loyal friends rather than the magnificent hero who accomplished 12 glorious labors.

“In this version, there’s nothing supernatural about Hercules,” said sophomore Gary Stanback in an email interview. “He’s an ordinary human being, just one who happens to be exceptionally strong. It’s basically the story of the real person who, hypothetically, could have inspired the myth.”

This is what really makes the movie a must-watch. Hercules, instead of being this lionized character, is depicted as someone that is struggling to match the exaggerated myth of being the son of Zeus.

Haunted by hallucinations of Cerberus, three-headed wolves functioning as Hercules’ only remaining labor, Hercules must make his way to Thrace with his band of warriors to prepare the Thracian armies for an upcoming battle against warlord Rheseus.

Hercules follows a complicated character progression, starting off as a man who does not believe himself to be a hero. Hercules is forced to take up the role of the legendary warrior he once was and learns to have faith in his abilities.

Having a straightforward and inverted checkmark plot structure, most of the movie is what avid Greek mythology fans might expect. Littered with violence and fighting, the film’s main asset, however, is the amount of action packed into the 99 minutes of screen time and the alternate take on Hercules’ character and his struggles to rediscover himself after his family’s death.

Each battle scene followed by another kept my eyes glued to the screen. The story seemed to give off a hype of excitement as Hercules continued to perform amazing tasks, keeping the viewer engaged throughout.

Despite not having an emotionally connecting plot until the end, Hercules’ pain and frustration was effectively conveyed to the viewer. I clearly remember feeling sympathy and anger when Hercules was chained to a boulder and Cerberus released upon him.

Overall, “Hercules” is an action-packed film, and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys mythological films filled with action.