Hercules and Iolaus reminesce while navigating the deadly Maze of the Minotaur.
Summary[]
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Andius and Danion, two ”town idiots” from Alturia, use a map they bought to find the cavern where Zeus supposedly hid a large stash of treasure. They start to open the heavily locked doors, until one of them considers the fact that a lock on the outside of a door usually means that something is meant to be kept inside. Before the two can resecure the doors, a half-bull, half-man monster called the Minotaur breaks out and captures one of them. It tells the other to bring Hercules to him.
Hercules’ sons are play fighting. He ends up separating the two, telling them that fighting isn't good unless it's done to protect people. Hercules also tells them that brothers shouldn't fight under any circumstance. Later on, Hercules finds his father, Zeus, in the barn when he goes in there to put his tools away. Seeing how his son misses his adventure days, Zeus hands him a serpent scale. Holding it makes Hercules vividly recall fighting a sea serpent near Troy. When the memory distracts Hercules from eating his dinner, Dieaneria knows something is wrong. While Hercules is happy that he has more time for his family now, it’s painfully obvious that he still misses the days of traveling around and helping people.
The next day, Iolaus arrives to pay a visit to his best friend. He shows Hercules some new fighting moves he learned from a man from Chin. That night, Iolaus and Dieaneria have a brief conversation about Iolaus’ family. She thinks his late wife, Ania, would be proud of him for being a single father. Moments later, the “town idiot” who got away shows up to seek out Hercules’ help against the beast that took his friend. Feeling his place is with his family now, Hercules refuses to go until Dieaneria and Iolaus finally convince him that it could do him some good. Iolaus decides to tag along. Along the way they meet up with Zeus, who warns them against going to Alturia because of the spicy food. Of course, that is his way of hiding the true reason he doesn't want them to go there.
When Hercules and Iolaus arrive in Alturia, the people claim Andius and Danion made up a story about the monster. Meanwhile, the Minotaur ensnares several more villagers into his underground labyrinth. To insure they don’t escape, he places them in mud coffins and covers them with a hypnotic green slime. Zeus pays the Minotaur a visit. The beast isn’t happy to see him since he trapped him here many years ago. Zeus claims he did so to try and teach the beast a lesson, which he obviously hasn’t learned since he is still hurting innocent people. The Minotaur claims when he has enough prisoners they will storm the heavens and destroy the gods. When the Minotaur threatens to take care of Zeus here and now, the king of the gods warns the beast that he can’t touch him. The Minotaur claims he can by killing his precious son, Hercules.
Noting the fact that the man who brought them the news about the beast was a bit loopy, Hercules and Iolaus decide they should head home. But first, since they are tired, they figure they’ll unwind at the town tavern and head back later. Several of the tavern’s patrons attack Hercules and Iolaus. During the fight, Iolaus shows the patrons some of the martial arts moves he told Hercules about. Hercules and Iolaus end up wiping the floor with the patrons. Unfortunately, their leader, Trikonis, doesn't stay down. As one of the other patrons knocks Iolaus cold, Trikonis battles Hercules one more time, using his spiked mace to do some damage. Hercules eventually knocks Trikonis out cold.
That night, while Trikonis and two of his goons attempt to get even with Hercules and Iolaus, the Minotaur sneaks into town and massacres them. Hearing the commotion outside, Hercules races out to the street to see what’s going on. The townspeople think Hercules killed Trikonis and his goons when they find him at the crime scene. They chase after Hercules who runs into the inn to get Iolaus. As the people corner the two heroes against a wall, the Minotaur pulls Iolaus down into his labyrinth. The people now believe the monster is real. Two others decide to go with Hercules to rescue Iolaus and the others who have been taken. But before Hercules can enter the labyrinth, Zeus takes his son aside for a heart to heart talk. He tells him that the beast must be destroyed. Since he claims he can’t bring himself to kill the creature, he regretfully asks his son to do it for him. Hercules agrees to without questioning it.
As Hercules and the two villagers search the labyrinth, one is gored to death by the Minotaur. The other gets his throat slit open while trapped in between two large rocks. Seconds later, Hercules finally comes face to face with the beast. Hercules bests the Minotaur in battle until the beast tells Hercules that he is also Zeus' son. Knowing what he now knows, Hercules refuses to fight his brother...until the beast grabs Iolaus from one of the coffins and holds a sharp fingernail to Iolaus' throat, preparing to slit it. Not about to let his best friend get killed, Hercules dropkicks the beast into a nearby spike, impaling him. Zeus appears to try and apologize to Hercules, but the demigod understands. He is just sorry his father had to lose a son. Zeus states that he lost him years ago when he turned people against the gods, then against one other. With his dying breath, the Minotaur begs his father not to let him die this way. In a final act of love and mercy, Zeus turns his son back into the man he once was. Iolaus and the other prisoners are finally free. After Iolaus bids his friend farewell for awhile, Hercules heads back to his homestead to be with his wife, kids and their dog.
Gallery[]
Background Information[]
- The first "clip show" of the franchise, Hercules and the Maze of the Minotaur features clips from the previous four movies.
- This is the only movie to not feature or mention Hera.
- Originally, only four Hercules: The Legendary Journeys TV movies were planned but when one of the other Action Pack franchises was not going to be able to deliver, this film was put into production. it had to be a "clip show" because there was not enough time to create a full-length movie.
- At one point Iolaus recounts the story of his and Hercules’ battle against the Amazons. This shouldn’t be possible, as Zeus reversed time so that those events never took place, so Iolaus forgot any memories of the fight. The only explanation would be that Hercules had told the story to Iolaus after Zeus had reversed time.
Links and References[]
Cast[]
- Kevin Sorbo as Hercules
- Anthony Quinn as Zeus
- Tawny Kitaen as Deianeira
- Michael Hurst as Iolaus
- Anthony Ray Parker as the Minotaur/Gryphus
Other Cast[]
- Nic Fay as Andius
- Andrew Thurtell as Danion
- Paul McIver as Aeson
- Simon Lewthwaite as Klonus
- Rose McIver as Ilea
- Katrina Hobbs as Lover Girl
- Warren Carl as Lover Boy
- Maya Dalziel as Townswoman
- Sydney Jackson as Darthus
- Marise Wipani as Maiden
- Andrew Glover, Sr. as Crowdmember
- Terry Batchelor as Trikonis
- Al Chalk as the Gryphus (voice)
- Lawrence Wharerau as Thug #1
- John Mellor as Thug #2
- Geoff Allen as Martan
- Scott Freeman as Little Kid
- Pio Terei as Innkeeper
References[]
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| Telemovies | Season 1 >> | |||||||
| #01 | The Amazon Women | #03 | The Circle of Fire | #05 | The Maze of the Minotaur | |||
| #02 | The Lost Kingdom | #04 | The Underworld | |||||