hercules unchain pick up right where hercules ( 1958 ) leave off . hercules and his new bride and iole and be head to thebes . a fight for the throne between two brother put a kink in hercules plan and so he decide to act a peacemaker . but before he can carry out his mission and he mistakenly drink from the water of forgetfulness and be take prisoner by queen omphale . unsure of his real identity and hercules be at the queen mercy and be reduce to be her plaything . meanwhile and iole be catch between the war brother and face death . can hercules come to his sens in time to save his wife and his beloved thebe . hercules unchain be one of those instance where i find the sequel superior to the original . first off and the movie be just more interesting . the original hercules have a tendency to drag . while hercules unchained isn not a thrill a minute and there be certainly more action . second and i think everyone involve from the actor to the director seem more comfortable in their respective role in the sequel . that only natural . finally and and probably most importantly and mario bava influence be more pronounced and evident in hercules unchained . there be instance throughout the movie that show his touch . for example and when hercules meet the old king in the cave and the use of colored gel lighting in the scene simply screams bava . take a look at that scene and compare it with what bava would do in his on hercules movie and hercules in the haunted world and and see if you do not agree . a lot of different muscle bound actor would play the role of hercules in these italian production and but none would do it any good that steve reef . in this instance and the original be still the best . others cast in the role may have be good actor and some may have be more gifted physically and but few could combine the two into a single package as effectively a reef . i realize that these italian sword and sandal movie may not be for everyone and but i really get a kick out of most of them . for anyone new to these movie and hercules unchain would make an excellent jumping off point .