Lack of good storyline.

Excellent adaptation.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

After a particularly hard night on the sauce, Hercules, his son, and their dwarf sidekick are returning home when the sky turns red and someone warns them that an unknown threat from an unknown land threatens all of Greece from a place no one has ever returned from.Taking this most vague of threats very seriously, Herc and the leaders of Greece hold a conference to discuss what to do about it. Only Herc's mate Androclo offers to take his army and see what's going down, and for some reason Herc declares he isn't going and then destroys Androclo's throne for no reason whatsoever! Probably just a side effect of necking too many Aberdare tic-tacs I'd imagine.Of course Herc's own son gives Herc some drugged wine and both of them end up on Androclo's ship with their dwarf sidekick for good measure. This is the point when Androclo declares that he hasn't got an army and everyone on board the ship is a cheap pirate he picked up to work for him (and yes, they rebel and Herc leaves them on an island for their troubles).After an awful lot of fannying about the film decides to become mental for a few minutes as Herc has a square go with the shape changing God Proteus! Proteus also has the Queen of Atlantis' daughter as a sacrifice but before Herc can rescue her he's go to deal with Proteus, who changes from an old man, to a lizard monster, to some flames, then into a snake that attacks Herc, then into a lion that attacks Herc, then into a vulture that attacks Herc, then back to a lizard monster…that attacks Herc! The Queen of Atlantis shows her appreciation for having her daughter rescued by having her daughter taken away and put to death (she's rescued by Herc's son and dwarf sidekick, who gets to impale a guy with a spear). This is when things get a bit draggy as the plot splits in two, with Herc drinking more bloody drugged booze, fending off the Queen's advances, and hearing the word Uranus a lot, and Herc's son falling in love with that chick and finding a quarry full of mutants. Androclo also becomes insane by this point in a story that bored me while I watched it, so let's forget about that.That seems like an awful lot of plot and doesn't even include the clone army, the glowing Uranus rock, people saying Uranus all the time: "Uranus rules over all!", and the massive fight between the mutants and the clone army that results in the deaths of every single mutant. The pacing of this film is very erratic but the body count is through the roof as Herc manages not only to destroy the Queen, but also her clone army, her regular army, every single person living on Atlantis and the entire land of Atlantis itself. And still makes it home for dinner.Why does Hercules just drink everything he's given without question? I've seen him drugged this way in every single Herc film I've watched I think. He's drugged up twice in this film alone! One of these days someone's going to give him a cup of pish, just for a laugh.

Why this movie has "captive women" in the title I'll never know. Only one woman is captive, and she is rescued just 15 minutes into the movie - but the film does have a whole bunch of captive men though.Hercules rescues the movie's only captive girl, he dutifully brings her back to her family - only for them to immediately try and kill her! This must be one of the more legendary idiotic plot-twists in MST3K's rich history. Soon thereafter, the Evil Queen (the captive woman's angry Mom) tries to have pretty much everyone killed, and for reasons that are quite vague. Perhaps the viewer is simply expected to assume that an Evil Queen kills all the time, randomly even. Motive shmotive. Who needs it? This is an Italian movie.There is even ample mention of "Uranus", and if you thought this cheesy word-play has outlived its funniness or is way past its prime - think again: "the blood of Uranus can never be destroyed!" This is not an MST3K riff, but an actual line from the movie. I couldn't believe I could still find "Uranus" funny.And I promise you, you WILL laugh at the scene when Hercules throws a stuffed lion toy over a cliff only to have a vulture thrown back at him.

"Hercules returns just in time to save a gorgeous damsel in distress from the clutches of a wicked monster. The grateful beauty takes him to her home in Atlantis. Hercules must intervene again to save her from her murderous mother and some unfriendly inhabitants. Hercules, his son, and the maiden escape before the city and its population are destroyed," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Dubbed "Hercules and the Captive Women" from the original Italian, this one features Reg Park's debut as one of the exported "sword and sandal" strongmen. Don't watch for the numerous scenes involving Hercules rescuing "Captive Women" because there are none. Instead, you get to see him save one captive, or rather, less than half of her. There are some nicely dressed scenes, though.*** Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide (8/19/61) Vittorio Cottafavi ~ Reg Park, Fay Spain, Ettore Manni, Luciano Marin

Brave and mighty Hercules (a fine and affable performance by the brawny Reg Park) and his eager, but naive buddy Androcles (the solid Ettore Manni) journey across the ocean to the fabled city of Atlantis in order to stop evil Queen Antinea (nicely played with lip-smacking wicked aplomb by the ravishing Fay Spain) from taking over the world with her army of clone soldiers. Director Vittorio Cottafavi, who also co-wrote the eventful and imaginative script with Sandro Continenza, relates the story at a constant steady pace, maintains a serious tone throughout, and stages the exciting action scenes with rip-roaring gusto (the customary rough'n'ready swordfights are especially thrilling). Better still, this film was obviously made with a pretty substantial budget; there's a breathtaking sense of lavish spectacle to the sets and costumes which in turn makes this picture a truly sumptuous visual feast. Carlo Carlini's glorious widescreen cinematography, shot in bright eye-popping color, makes deft use of a frequently moving camera and offers a wealth of striking shots. The suitably sweeping and majestic score by Gino Marinuzzi, Jr. and Armando Trovajoli likewise hits the rousing spot. The earnest and appealing acting from a sound cast rates as another significant asset: Park portrays Hercules with winning good humor and admirable sincerity, Laura Efrikian makes for an extremely fair damsel in distress as Antinea's sweet fetching daughter Ismene, and Salvatore Furnari almost steals the whole show with his delightfully hearty turn as excitable dwarf Timoteo. The fiery mondo destructo conclusion totally rocks; ditto Hercules' battle with a lethal sorcerer who transforms into a hideous humanoid lizard beast. An immensely fun fantasy romp.