Hercules (2014) quotes

Who are you? Are you a murderer?

Ergenia

Damn you! I curse you!

Are you a mercenary who turns his back on the innocent?

Ergenia

Stay away from my son!

Are you only a legend, or are you the truth behind the legend? We believe in you! We have faith in you! Have faith in yourself! Remember the man that you are.

Ergenia

Father, the gods will punish you! You cannot escape it!

Remember the deeds you have performed, the Labors you have accomplished!

Ergenia

No! NOO!!

STOP IT!

Iolaus

Leave her alone!

Now tell me!

Ergenia

PLEASE!!!

Who... are... YOU?!

Hercules

I... AM... HERCULLLLLEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! [the strength of the pull breaks the chains and Hercules leaps over and slams the chain-bound rocks on a Thracian executioner's head, killing him and making him drop the axe in front of Ergenia, who gasps in astonishment]

Cotys

Unleash the wolves!

Autolycus

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen...

That was fun.

Autolycus

...eighteen, nineteen, twenty. 20 pirates at two gold pieces a head, minus the headless ones. Let's see.

Hercules

Not a bad night.

Iolaus

You see how the pirates ran? My story softened their resolve!

Autolycus

Their resolve must be broken, Iolaus. When you speak the legend of Hercules, make it bigger, scarier! The more they believe Hercules is truly the son of Zeus, the less like they are to fight.

Aye.

Hercules

Amphiarus.

Hmm?

Hercules

Care to join us here on Earth?

A lion and a crow in strange alliance, fighting across a sea of corpses.

Cotys

Hercules, welcome. An honor to host such a legend.

Hercules

Lord Cotys.

Cotys

But in legend, you fight alone.

Hercules

My reputation would not exist without my comrades. Autolycus of Sparta, Tydeus of Thebes, Atalanta of Scythia, Iolaus of Athens, and Amphiaraus of Argos.

Cotys

Amphiaraus? The famed seer of Argos. It is said you have glimpsed your own death, so you fight each battle knowing that it is not yet your time to die. What else can you tell of the future?

Only what the gods see fit to reveal.

Cotys

A shame. It would have been a great gift to know the outcome of this war.

The gods can be frustrating sometimes, Lord Cotys.

Cotys

With respect, I fear that the task ahead might not be suitable for a woman, even if she is an Amazon warrior. [Atalanta swiftly turns around and fires both arrows at once at the guards' helmets against a door] I stand corrected.

Cotys

Rhesus!

You have come looking for a fight, and we are happy to oblige. [to Hercules] Hercules, the son of Zeus. Your legend ends here.

Hercules

Look at me. Do I look afraid?

It is over, Cotys. Mount Asticus on your front, the woods at your back, and my troops outman you three to one. Surrender now, and we shall consider being merciful.

Men die who speak to my lord in such a manner.

You've made your choice.

Eurystheus

Magnificent, aren't they? An extraordinary species, incredibly loyal, as long as they're fed. Remember them?

Hercules

Eurystheus.

Eurystheus

They remember you. Confused, Hercules?

Cotys

Kingdoms are won with armies, but empires are made by alliances. King Eurystheus and I will now rule all of Greece.

Hercules

Cerberus only exists in my mind.

Eurystheus

Speak a little louder, Hercules. [slaps Hercules] I didn't quite catch that.

Hercules

The wolves, they were there that night. The wolves were there. You drugged me. The wolves were there the night my family was murdered.

Eurystheus

My men told me how your children screamed as my wolves gnawed on their bones. As their fangs despoiled your daughter's... pure flesh. When the people called out your name louder than mine, you see, when they saw you as a god, how long before they saw you as their king?

Hercules

I WANTED NOTHING!!

Eurystheus

PRECISELY! Your sin, Hercules, was that you had no ambition! I can deal with an ambitious man! He can be bought! But a man who wants nothing has no price! Killing you would have turned Athens against me. I had to ruin your name.

Hercules

My wife! My children!

Hercules

I saw pity in your eyes for Rhesus. Why? Look at me. Cotys is responsible for this war, isn't he? You lie very well. Clearly, your father's daughter.

Ergenia

I didn't do it for my father. I did it for my son. If I disobeyed Cotys or resisted in any way, Arius would be executed. I did what any mother would. I protected my child. My husband was king, and Cotys poisoned him to take his place. Rhesus fought back. Civil war broke out. Arius is the legitimate king. My father is old. He will not live forever, and once he is gone, my son will be a good king. And he will heal this land.

Hercules

That's a dream.

Ergenia

And you can help. Please, when you leave Thrace, take Arius with you. Please keep him safe.

Hercules

Find another savior.

Hercules

Soldiers of Thrace! You followed me in battle, follow me now.

Cotys

Don't be fools! Hercules is mortal, not a god! Anyone who sides with him will die! And I will show you. [turns to a soldier] Bring him!

Ergenia

Arius!

Mama!

Ergenia

No! He's your grandson!

Cotys

You failed to save your children, Hercules. But you may yet save him.

Ergenia

Please, Father! No!

Cotys

Admit defeat! Bow to me! You have until the count of three! One! Two! [Autolycus' knife suddenly impales the soldier's throat]

Autolycus

Don't just stand there! Kill someone!

Hercules

Whenever I'm here, I'm sure this is what Elysium must look like.

Eurystheus

Well, men like us have the means to create our own paradise on Earth. [shows Hercules the peacocks] Look. Magnificent, aren't they? Well, do not keep us in suspense. Are we safe from the monster Hydra?

Hercules

The Hydra heads, Your Majesty.

Eurystheus

The masks of serpents. No wonder men thought they were monsters. You've done your sovereign a great service. Come. Let the people have their hero. [he and Hercules approach the balcony]

All hail King Eurystheus, and the mighty protector of Athens, Hercules! [the crowd roars with cheers and chants]

Eurystheus

A man faced with such adoration might be tempted to think himself a god.

Hercules

I only want to be a husband and a father.

Iolaus

You think you know the truth about him? You know nothing. His father was Zeus. The Zeus. King of the gods. His mother, Alcmene, a mortal woman. Together, they had a boy. Half human, half god. But Zeus' queen, Hera, saw this bastard child as an insult, a living reminder of her husband's infidelity. Alcmene named the boy Hercules, which means glory of Hera, but this failed to appease the goddess. She wanted him dead. Luckily, he took after his father. Once he reached manhood, the gods commanded him to perform Twelve Labors, twelve dangerous missions. If he completed them all and survived, Hera agreed to finally let him live in peace. He fought the Lernean Hydra! He battled the Erymanthean Boar! [Hercules strikes the Erymanthean Boar face-down] But his greatest Labor was the Nemean Lion. This was no ordinary beast. It had a hide so tough, no weapon could penetrate it. But even this monster was no match for the son of Zeus...

What a load of crap!

Iolaus

Every word is true!

You know what I think? This friend of yours doesn't even exist.

Iolaus

Laugh all you want. He's coming, and be warned, Gryza, he despises pirates.

Macedonia has been good to us, plenty of villages ripe for pillaging. We are here to stay. [to a pirate] Finish him.

The more you struggle, the faster you drop.

Iolaus

Indeed, your fleet is strong. I... [notices a figure approaching] Yet, as I was about to explain before I was so rudely interrupted, the Nemean Lion was strong, too. Yet, he still destroyed it, and not with a sword or a spear or arrows. No!

Hercules

I did it with my bare hands! Or so they say.

Hercules...

Hercules

Is this all the men you have?

There's 40 of us, one of you!

Hercules

The king of this land has offered me gold to dispose of you! So leave or die. I get paid either way.

Make him bleed. [five men charge but Hercules knocks them out at once]

Iolaus

Ha! Five men with a single blow! Still think you can destroy the son of Zeus?

BRING ME HIS HEAD!

Excuse me, that was my moment! My fate!

Hercules

I AM HERCULLLLEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

Eurystheus

Hercules, listen to me. None of this is my fault. You see, Cotys poisoned my mind, turned me against you! I like you. Now stop. I command you to stop! I'm your King! You took an oath to obey me! You swore to Zeus! Wait, wait. You fight for gold. I have plenty of gold, name of price. Find it in your heart to forgive.

Lord Cotys

As you said, Hercules, there is no way to defeat a shield wall! There is no way out! Come out and face me! You're no hero! You're no god! You're nothing but a mercenary! Your wife and children deserved to die! [Hercules sends the statue of Hera tumbling down the steps towards him and his men with extreme force] What are you doing?! Get back up there! Hercules must die! Kill that filthy bastard!

Hercules

You want forgiveness? Ask my family for forgiveness.

Iolaus

You think you know the truth about him? You know nothing. His father was Zeus. The Zeus. King of the gods. His mother, Alcmene, a mortal woman. Together, they had a boy. Half human, half god. But Zeus' queen, Hera, saw this bastard child as an insult, a living reminder of her husband's infidelity. Alcmene named the boy Hercules, which means glory of Hera, but this failed to appease the goddess. She wanted him dead. Luckily, he took after his father. Once he reached manhood, the gods commanded him to perform Twelve Labors, twelve dangerous missions. If he completed them all and survived, Hera agreed to finally let him live in peace. He fought the Lernaean Hydra! He battled the Erymanthean Boar! But his greatest Labor was the Nemean Lion. This was no ordinary beast. It had a hide so tough, no weapon could penetrate it. But even this monster was no match for the son of Zeus...