This article is from the archive of our partner .

Everything seemed to imply that Brett Ratner's Dwayne Johnson starring Hercules would be a disaster—a terrible movie that flops at the box office—and while it could still crash and burn with audiences, critics are somewhat pleasantly surprised.

Now, no one is going overboard here, but a number of the reviews out—and there aren't that many considering press screenings were few and far between—boil down to "eh, it's pretty fun!" Some were so backhandedly positive that we have compiled the most surprising lines found within them. Who would have thought the word "classy" would be used to describe Brett Ratner's Hercules?

*Emphasis ours, in case Paramount is looking for pull-quote suggestions.

"The result is a far classier pic than Paramount’s frenetic trailer — and decision to hide the film from reviewers until the eleventh hour — foretold" — Scott Foundas, Variety

"In terms of sheer scale and craftsmanship, “Hercules” represents something of a quantum leap for Ratner" — Foundas

"Brett Ratner's cheerfully ridiculous and entertaining film..." Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

"You’ll have to say one thing for Brett Ratner’s production ofHercules: this movie has a sense of proportion ." — Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter

"The classy cast also elevates the picture." — Farber

" Calamity , creatively if not financially, had been widely anticipated. But oddly – or against the odds – it's staved off ." — Tim Robey, The Telegraph

"It stacks up as an oafish pleasure for an undemanding summer – a rewriting of myths in scrawled crayon, with a nonchalant quality that makes its judiciously brief running time fly by." — Robey

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.