In this classic HERCULES (1983) sci-fi movie review, get ready for an epic clash between good and evil. The movie begins with a bold, explosive opening: “In the beginning, before creation, there was darkness…”
An explanation follows, something like this: from this primordial blast, chaos ignites, blending darkness and chaos into flames. These forces collide and fuse, giving rise to the elements… and from the shards of Pandora’s jar — which holds both good and evil — planets and our solar system are born. Earth’s a vibrant place, full of life everywhere.
The gods, being the first creations, claim the moon as their home base, where they decide the fate of mankind and all living things.
Zeus announces that Pandora’s jar has been broken, unleashing chaos and evil into the universe. The goddess Athena convinces Zeus that one man must be given extra power to fight against this evil. That’s how Hercules, the ultimate hero, is born — an embodiment of light and goodness in the universe.
His spirit of light will enter a newborn child, who will be destined for greatness. So, where does the spirit of Hercules go? Straight to Thebes, to the royal palace. He’s to become the newborn son of Amphitryon, king of Thebes, and his queen, Alcmene.
From the very beginning, he’s marked to become Zeus’s hero. But right after his birth, Hera makes her presence known, warning that even as this hero begins his journey, the forces of evil are already stirring in Thebes.
Hercules (1983) Movie Review: A Sci-Fi Classic
We see inside the Temple of Hera, where a gleaming golden sword catches the light. But chaos erupts as two guards fall, struck down by arrows while protecting it. A sneaky bandit seizes the moment, snatching the sword.
It turns out to be an inside job, orchestrated by Princess Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos. As one of the masterminds of the whole scheme, she tells the new commander, now in possession of the sword, that he can claim the throne of Thebes — if he’s willing to eliminate the king, queen, and the newborn prince, Hercules.
Rebellion quickly takes hold, with the rebels storming the loyal guards and toppling the crown, plunging the kingdom of Thebes into chaos. They’re hunting for Hercules, the newly born young child, but a quick-thinking maid escapes with him. She places Hercules in a small boat and sends him drifting down the river, her heart heavy. Just as she releases it, an arrow strikes her down. The guards, thinking the worst will happen, let the boat go, assuming that the river will be the end of Hercules.
The boat floats along the river and teeters on the edge of a massive waterfall. Just then, Zeus reaches out his hand, stopping the vessel in its tracks. Hera demands Zeus return the boat — so he does, placing Hercules in a safer spot. Hera, angry that Zeus is aiding his divine son, sends two deadly serpents to attack him. But Hercules, fierce and unyielding, crushes them both with ease.
A kind couple finds the baby and raises him as their own, never knowing his true destiny. Meanwhile, a cosmic game of chess unfolds — good versus evil, with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance. Who will come out on top?
Tragedy strikes when a fierce bear is sent to kill the earth father of Hercules. He rushes to save him, but it’s too late. Frustrated and furious, Hercules throws the bear into space, creating the constellation that bears its name.
Hercules (1983) Movie Review: Daedalus
Hera’s plans become clearer: she’s determined to prevent Hercules from fulfilling his divine mission. Meanwhile, King Minos summons Daedalus, the greatest inventor and scientist in the entire universe—though interestingly, she is depicted as a wicked woman in Hercules (1983), whereas in Greek mythology, Daedalus is a male figure. She is played by Eva Robins, an Italian actress.
But guess what: she was assigned male at birth but has felt female since she was thirteen. Around sixteen, she began taking hormones, and by twenty-one, she was living as a woman. She even portrayed a mermaid in the 1991 television movie Odyssey.
In the Hercules (1983) movie, it’s revealed that both Minos and Hera secretly want Hercules eliminated. Daedalus, ever the genius, agrees to help by bringing forth new deadly inventions — robotic monsters that will hunt down and destroy the young hero. Not long after, while Hercules is plowing the fields, his mother is nearing death. Hercules rushes to help her upon hearing about her condition, but he arrives too late to save her. Suddenly, a giant metallic bug appears, attacking Hercules.
Hercules (1983) Movie Review: Hercules and Cassiopeia
Hercules destroys it, and since he no longer has close ties there after his mother is gone, he decides to leave for Tyre. He knows the king is hosting games to find the greatest warrior. At the event, Hercules is unstoppable, and everyone notices — including the king and his daughter, Cassiopeia.
The king’s advisor, Dorcon, wants to thoroughly test Hercules. He arranges for Hercules to fight numerous opponents, outnumbering him in each battle, but Hercules rises to the challenge. Subsequently, Dorcon convinces the king to assign Hercules a task believed to be impossible: cleaning the sacred stables by tomorrow morning, where no evil can enter, and where the goddess’s thousand horses are kept.
Cassiopeia enters the stables and quickly notices that Hercules hasn’t tidied up. However, he’s totally unfazed. She also finds out she’s promised to someone from Athens. Cassiopeia wears a veil because an Oracle from Athens warned her she would marry the first person to see her face after her 18th summer. Hercules then persuades her to let him see her face. If she agrees, he promises to clean the stables.
Cassiopeia is portrayed by Ingrid Anderson, mostly known for her roles in Hercules (1983), as well as her appearances in the television series Cover Up (1984) and Riptide (1984).
Hercules ends up cleaning the stables by throwing a couple of giant boulders into a nearby river, diverting its waters so that they gush through the stables and clean them thoroughly, causing them to sparkle. Cassiopeia removes her veil, and Hercules likes what he sees. He kisses her, but Zeus strikes them both down with a lightning bolt, causing them to fall to the ground, stunned. Dorcon arrives with Ariaa, and it becomes clear that they are both working for Hera. Ariadne takes Cassiopeia, and Hercules is thrown into the sea. He escapes by swimming to an island.
Hercules (1983) Movie Review: Hercules and Circe
Hercules has arrived at the island where Circe lives. She initially appears as an old woman, a witch. We learn that King Minos and his evil daughter Ariadne left her stranded on the island. Soon, Circe reveals that she needs ten drops of Hercules’s blood if he is to see Cassiopeia again. She ends up drinking Hercules’s blood and transforms into the beautiful woman, Circe — the sorceress you see before you.
The actress who played Circe is Mirella D’Angello. She’s stunning! Maybe she belongs in this list of 14 Beautiful Actresses or Goddesses? According to IMDb, she’s known for her roles as Livia in Caligula, Tilde in Tenebrae, Circe in Hercules, and Janet in the TV miniseries Il treno per Istanbul.
Ariadne takes Cassiopeia to Atlantis, where the plan is to sacrifice her.
Circe provides Hercules with a shield and sword to retrieve a powerful talisman that she desperately needs. Minos is aware of the plans and must stop her from obtaining it. Daedalus offers a three-headed dragon monster, resembling Cerberus, which will be waiting to destroy Hercules while he is in the company of Circe. Circe guides Hercules to the location of her talisman. The Hydra, the three-headed dragon that guards the gates of Hell, is waiting for them.
Hercules must defeat the fearsome Hydra dragon — a formidable beast with a menacing appearance and the terrifying ability to unleash deadly laser beams from its snarling mouth.
The three-headed Hydra dragon fires lasers at him, but Hercules destroys the beast by reflecting its own rays back at the monster with a shield given to him by Circe. After that epic battle, Circe leads Hercules to the center of the Earth.
Hercules and the sorceress Circe cross the rainbow bridge that will lead them to the gates of Hell. Meanwhile, on the island of Thera, in the capital city of Atlantis, Cassiopeia is seen languishing in a jail cell — the night before her sacrifice.
Hercules see a giant skull. Circe tells Hercules that the Skull Mountain is in the center of Hell, where her charm is hidden. Charon, the boatman, appears and takes them across the volcanic waters. Beneath the Hand of Destiny lies the Soul of the World, and inside it is Circe’s charm. According to Circe, only Hercules can retrieve it.
Hercules reaches into the egg, and suddenly, his arm erupts in flames. The fire then freezes, but he is able to recover and grab the talisman. His goal? To get to Thera and save Cassiopeia.
Circe agrees to help, but she insists she needs the talisman first. In a flash, Circe materializes beside Hercules in a strange, unfamiliar land. Hercules feels a twinge of suspicion. But Circe assures him that this is the place where he’ll find Prometheus’s winged chariot. Still unsure — he thinks it might be another trick, especially since the winged horses that draw the chariot are supposedly lost to infinity.
Before he can go after it, Hercules has to earn it from the king of Africa. the king had asked Circe to help him create a channel that splits the land in two. With the assistance of the gods, Circe enlarges Hercules, which enables him to push the land apart, carving out the great continents of Europe and Africa.
This doesn’t sit well with Hera, who’s clearly annoyed. Zeus, meanwhile, gives Circe a gift from Aphrodite — the goddess of love — that makes her fall in love with Hercules. Not exactly the best thing for a sorceress.
Hercules (1983) Movie Review: Hercules in Atlantis
Hercules and Circe finally find the chariot — but no horses in sight. Thinking quickly, Hercules gets a rope tied around the chariot, then wraps the other end to a huge stone. With a mighty heave, he throws the stone into space, sending the chariot and Circe hurtling through the cosmos. But things go awry — the rope snaps, and they crash into the ocean below. Since Circe has fallen in love with Hercules, her magical powers are stripped away — it’s the law of Aphrodite! But Hercules isn’t bothered as he can see in the distance is Atlantis, shimmering on the horizon.
Cassiopeia is seen taking a bath when Adrlana enters the room accompanied by a couple of servants. Her evil plans are in motion…
The evil Ariadne, who appeared to be revealing all of her cleavage through an impressive costume, was played by actress Sybil Danning. Her nickname was the Queen of B Movies. I must say, she is absolutely gorgeous!
Hercules and Circe finally arrive at the green isle of Thera. Circe points to a cave and tells Hercules that it is the way to King Minos’s palace through the underground labyrinth. However, she cannot accompany him. Cassiopeia is about to be sacrificed, so Hercules must hurry. Meanwhile, a monster lurks nearby. At first, it appears to be a one-eyed cyclops. Hercules wants Circe to come with him, but this is Hercules’s destiny.
The monster fires a laser beam at Hercules, but Circe runs toward him and is hit instead. She is close to death, leaving Hercules to battle an evil, horse-like robotic creature that resembles a centaur from Greek mythology. It wields a bow and arrow, but this weapon actually fires laser rays.
Hercules (1983) Movie Review: Hercules battles King Minos
With her final, trembling breaths, Circe reveals to Hercules that Cassiopeia is the woman chosen for him by the gods. Determined, Hercules ventures into the labyrinth in Thera, unaware that Minos and Daedalus are fully aware of the unfolding events. Minos, calculating and cunning, has his own plans for Hercules.
Confident he can handle the hero himself, Minos allows Daedalus to retreat into chaos — beyond time and space — to rest until needed him again. At this point, we realize Minos’s true obsession: he values science above everything else. Not as a tool to serve the gods, but as a weapon to destroy them completely.
This crescendo of tension culminates in an awe-inspiring clash — a fierce, thunderous duel between the mighty Hercules and the formidable King Minos, where swords clash and legends are forged in the heat of battle.
Hercules (1983) Review & Interesting Facts
This isn’t just any movie — it’s Hercules (1983), and it’s packed with gods, monsters, and epic battles that’ll blow your mind. Who’s gonna come out on top in that cosmic clash between good and evil? Will Hercules save Cassiopeia before it’s too late? And what happened to Atlantis? Did it vanish forever or give away some crazy secrets?
Trust me, you won’t believe how this Hercules (1983) sci-fi movie unfolds. Hit play and prepare yourself for one legendary ride. It’s one of the best HERCULES movies of all time! Here are some more Sci-Fi movies with Greek mythology themes that might have flown under your radar…
There’s also The Adventure of Hercules (1985), the sequel, but I don’t think it measures up to the original. I actually enjoy watching the first movie much more — it just has that x-factor about it. In my opinion, Hercules (1983) has to be the best Hercules Sci-Fi movie ever made.
Look, Lou Ferrigno, who played Hercules, isn’t exactly known for his acting skills, but he’s undeniably memorable. His most famous role is probably as the green Hulk in the 1977–1982 TV series The Incredible Hulk. However, it’s worth noting that in Hercules (1983), there are three stunning actresses who, in my opinion, surpass the two goddesses — Hera and Athena — in beauty. Watching the film is worth it just to see them.
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