Hercules in New York is by far the most infamous film in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s catalog, but believe it or not, it does have some small elements worth appreciating. As a die-hard fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films, Hercules in New York was a movie I was dreading getting around to for a long time, thanks to its unambiguous reputation as a monumentally awful start to Arnold’s career, being his first acting credit ever. I certainly found this notion to be true, as the experience is just as awful as the legends say, but there is some enjoyment to be mined here.

The plot of Hercules in New York is essentially just that. The Greek demi-god and hero Hercules, played by a young, hungry Arnold, H๏τ off his first wins in the Universe Championship bodybuilding compeтιтions, absconds to Earth to frolic in modern-day New York City. Despite being the one to organize the trip, Zeus quickly gets annoyed at his son’s embarrᴀssing antics, and sends in other famous Greek Gods to retrieve him. The film is, by all means, lazy, amateurish, and terribly acted, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing about it worth appreciating.

Hercules In New York Isn’t Pretending To Be Anything It’s Not

Points For Recognzing The Inherent Absurdity Of The Premise

Hercules in New York has very noble, simple goals that it doesn’t try to stray from. Other Schwarzenegger films, especially comedies later on in his career such as Jingle All the Way and Kindergarten Cop, attempt to inject some kind of moral or weirdly serious lesson to be learned into a goofy premise that simply isn’t equipped to handle it. If I’m watching an Arnold action comedy, I’m not interested in being lectured on the importance of fatherhood or some such public service announcement. I’m there to watch a hilariously musclebound man get into ridiculous situations.

For the many, many faults Hercules in New York has, over-ambition can’t be said to be one of them. The filmmakers seem to be keenly aware of how ridiculous the very premise of their fantasy action comedy is, not even making the shallowest attempt to paw at anything deeper that might get in the way of bombastic hi-jinks, like an overarching plot or a theme. A syrupy sweet message about responsibility or the importance of family was ripe for the plucking in the plot of Zeus and Hercules’ father-son clash, and I respect the film for not taking the bait.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Charisma Shines Through Despite The Movie’s Quality

Even Here, Arnold’s Future Superstar Status Is Apparent

Over the years, it’s become clear that Arnold is embarrᴀssed by Hercules in New York, as many actors might be for such a rough screen debut. In the film, Arnold is a very long way away from his future acting stardom, with clunky line reads so burdened by his signature Austrian accent, still untempered and thick at the time of filming, that future edits of the film actually dubbed over his lines to make them easier to understand. That being said, there is some small seed of charisma latent in Arnold’s Hercules performance that is indicative of his future success.

Even in this raw, untrained acting debut, it’s clear that Arnold’s future stardom was already set in stone. Sometimes he’s able to make completely ridiculous lines actually kind of work. One beat that stands out is his bizarre carriage ride date that ends in a brawl with a man in a bear costume, where Arnold smoothly wraps his arm around his love interest and says “You know how it is” when asked if he has a girl back home. Few other actors could make that kind of line work, but even here Arnold’s charisma nearly breaks through his bad acting.

The Film Was Actually SH๏τ In New York City, And It Shows

Props For Taking The Time To Film On-Location

As time has pᴀssed, actually shooting something in New York City has become more and more of a costly and extravagant affair. Long gone are the days of Woody Allen’s brick-laid views of the city’s streets, or even the infamously expensive sH๏τ in Vanilla Sky in which Tom Cruise sprints through an abandoned Times Square. Today, the exorbitant costs of shooting on New York City streets have caused filmmakers to seek out many proxies, with the less famous skylines of cities like Toronto or Cleveland approximating the Big Apple close enough.

Hercules in New York is very obviously sH๏τ on-location. I’m not a New York City local by any means, but I imagine it must be easy to pick out familiar landmarks as Arnold meanders across genuine Manhattan streets in a horse-drawn chariot. The film’s authenticity in its depiction of New York City actually represents some of its many technical faults, with the sounds of busy traffic and crosstalk frequently impeding on the performers’ lines. Even such a dumb comedy in the ’70s has a better representation of New York City compared to most modern blockbusters that supposedly take place there.

Hercules In New York Is Unintentionally Hilarious

The Film’s Ironic Appeal Is Off The Charts

Of course, the real joy in actually taking the time to witness Hercules in New York is just how unintentionally gutting it is, in a good way. As a lover of so-bad-they’re-good movies like The Room, I was hoping that Hercules in New York could at least provide me with some ironic humor to wash down the whole experience into something palatable. I was more than satisfied in this regard, and while Arnold’s shaky acting debut might be a technically worse film than anything else in his career, it’s far from the least entertaining movie to his name.

There are so many wonderful flavors of bad and bizarre to enjoy for those who love laughing at horrible movies. The endearingly cheap special effects are one particular selling point, from the aforementioned guy in a bear suit that’s supposed to be an actual grizzly to the fact that the feared lord of the underworld, Pluto, is represented by a red light and a fog machine. Most of the performances are compulsory-middle-school-play level bad as well, including Arnold’s. I highly recommend Hercules in New York for fellow Arnold fans who enjoy some delicious cinematic junk food.