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The Legend of Hercules 3D
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Summit Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (16th June 2014). |
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The Film
 It has always seemed odd that Hollywood, a would-be reservoir of ideas and artistic potential, chooses to not only produce big-budget, big spectacle films that are derivative of one another to such a degree that sometimes you can’t tell them apart, but it also likes to release competing films dealing with the exact same subject matter. For example: “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact” (both 1998); “Volcano” and “Dante’s Peak” (both 1997); “Olympus Has Fallen” and “White House Down” (both 2013), to name a few. In each case, it’s rare that both films succeed commercially. Audiences are fickle, and even though they continue to lap up every superhero spectacle thrown at screens when it comes to more distinct properties one always winds up on the chopping block. Why not wait a year, studios? If the film released first succeeds, audiences are likely to ignore the “knockoff” that follows. Should it fail, the perception of that concept correlating with being a “bomb” is very real. That formula will be put to the test again this year thanks to two films based on Hercules, the muscular son of Zeus who performed amazing feats of strength, being released seven months apart. Director Renny Harlin’s “The Legend of Hercules” (2014) was first out of the gate, with director Brett Ratner’s “Hercules” (featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the title role) scheduled for later this summer. It’s possible Ratner’s film may win this battle (despite the fact film geeks absolutely abhor his guts) because Harlin’s was released to little fanfare and even smaller box office. Critically panned and commercially unsuccessful, most wrote it off before even giving it a chance. It’s got one of the guys from “Twilight” (2008) in it! Harlin’s pedigree hasn’t been enough to draw in audiences for some time now – his last true hit was 1999’s awesome sharksploitation flick, “Deep Blue Sea”. Rather than give filmgoers an epic tale full of Hercules’ legendary conquests of beasts and battle, “The Legend of Hercules” presents him as an adolescent struggling to come to terms with his true nature. In the hands of a less skilled director this could have easily been unwatchable dreck, but because Harlin truly is a master of his craft the line between corny and commendable blurs. Far from a perfect film, there are enough satisfying moments here that it isn’t the total loss most expect. King Amphitryon (martial arts badass Scott Adkins) is a ruthless leader, destroying all who challenge him through brutal combat. His wife, Queen Alcmene (Roxanne McKee), has grown weary of his warmongering and zealous thirst for gold. She prays to the gods to be saved from his tyranny and Hera, wife of Zeus, appears before her, claiming she will bear the child of Zeus who will eventually save her people. Late one night, Zeus comes to her as an unseen spirit, impregnating Alcmene and drawing the ire of Amphitryon, who is convinced his wife has taken up with another man. When she bears a son, he wants no part of him. The boy is publicly named Alcides, but in private Alcmene acknowledges his true name: Hercules. Cut to twenty years later, Alcides/Hercules is a young man vying for the affection of Hebe (Gaia Weiss), a princess of Crete. She and Alcides are deeply in love, but that doesn’t stop Amphitryon from insisting she marry Iphicles (Liam Garrigan), brother of Alcides and first-born heir to the king’s throne. The two brothers have a notoriously strained relationship. Iphicles is clearly jealous of his brother’s abilities and power, mocking him publicly every chance he gets. When Alcides chokes out the mighty Nemean lion, Iphicles is the one who wears its pelt back home, claiming it was he who slayed the beast. Alcides has no intention of allowing his usurping brother to marry his woman, so he and Hebe run away. Unfortunately, they don’t get very far before being caught by a scouting party. Hebe is taken away and Alcides is banished to Egypt, where he is to join a campaign of soldiers. Just before he goes, Alcmene tells him of his true heritage as Zeus’ son. Things are rough once Alcides gets to the desert, and they get even worse when his party is ambushed and all but he and one other soldier, Sotiris (Liam McIntyre) are killed. The leader of the Egyptians doesn’t know who Alcides is, however, and Sotiris, when questioned, lies and claims one of the dead was the former prince. News of his death reaches back home and Queen Alcmene, blinded by sadness and rage, attempts to kill Amphitryon using her dagger. She fails and is herself killed. Meanwhile, Alcides and Sotiris are sold into slavery and forced to battle other slaves UFC style. The duo proves to be formidable in the ring, eventually landing them a chance to fight Greece’s six top undefeated warriors in an effort to win their freedom. Sotiris is injured in a prior match and cannot fight, but Alcides takes up for his friend and agrees to fight all six on his own. He wins, naturally, and is lauded as a hero. The people celebrate him and the deserters of Amphitryon’s army join him in battle. Iphicles is still to wed Hebe on the third moon, so Hercules, having now accepted his true lineage, must storm the king’s gates and defeat him before the union is complete. “The Legend of Hercules” is not a good movie, but on some basal level it is mildly entertaining. Harlin has instilled both a blessing and curse by taking the subject matter very seriously. The film is (thankfully) lacking in any kind of goofy humor, or even levity of any sort, really. But this isn’t a grim epic; it’s hardly epic at all. Harlin states in his commentary that he considers Hercules to be the original superhero; the wellspring from which all the ideas we have about modern superhero came. The error Harlin made was in structuring this film the same as any other modern coming-of-age hero picture. Hercules is a modest young man, letting his brother shine in the spotlight and taking any blows he is dealt on the chin. He just wants to chill out and love his lady. When he’s thrust into sudden conflict, he seems to struggle with who he is… to a degree. Unlike, say, Spider-Man, Hercules isn’t all that conflicted about accepting his destiny. He’s just a normal dude who happens to be very strong, and when he finally decides to let Daddy Zeus into his heart he gets an influx of power that serves as a constant deus ex machina. Friend about to be killed? Pray to daddy and – BOOM – instant power. Need to defeat an army twice the size of yours? Again, ask Dad, he knows. Hercules gets the ultimate deus ex machina during the climax, when he goes all Prince Adam/He-Man and literally holds his sword up to the sky to be imbued with Zeus’ lightning powers, creating a whip of energy that wipes away enemies like you’d scrub a blackboard clean. The film wants you to think he’s having some sort of identity crisis, but, really, he’s not. Kellan Lutz looks very brooding. His eyes squint and his brow furrows and you wonder if there’s more going on under the skull than he’s leading on, or maybe he is just a big brawler and little more. Amazingly, he was cast with only two weeks (!) to go before production began, so the physique you see on screen is apparently how this guy always looks. Truthfully, he isn’t a bad actor; he just lacks things like range and emotion. His casting as Hercules seemed comical, especially when compared to Ratner’s choice of walking brick sh*thouse Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Lutz does a good enough job with the material he’s given, and since this isn’t exactly highbrow entertainment that’ll do just fine. Renny, what’s up with all the slo-mo? Let’s put aside all the film’s bad CGI environments, ships, castles, and, well, just about everything done in the digital realm looks subpar. But blatantly aping films like “300” (2006) and “Immortals” (2011) does no one any favors. Even fans of “300” will tell you there are too many slo-mo shots. Seeing it done only makes it appear indulgent and derivative. At least Harlin does one thing right: a lack of close-up/shaky cam work. The fights are still edited with some rapid-fire cutting, but mostly Harlin allows the action to breathe so viewers can see what’s going on clearly. “The Legend of Hercules” has been blasted left and right by every critic on the planet. It currently holds a devastatingly low 3% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Is it bad? Yes. Yes, it is. But fans of sword-and-sandal films, especially those with less discerning tastes, may find some commendable bits here worth savoring. Hercules’ legend isn’t nearly as epic or legendary as the old tales most of us know, but the few moments of grandeur the character is given ride that fine line between triumph and terrible. There are worse ways to kill two hours. Go in with zero expectations and you may find the film marginally exceeds them.
Video
Find all the fault you want with the film, but there’s not much to complain about when it comes to the 2.40:1 1080p 24/fps MVC MPEG-4 encoded image. The disc encodes both the 2D and 3D versions of the film. The 2D picture is damn near perfect, dripping with detail and drawing focus to every minute facet, such as facial hair and clothing textures. Colors are bold and vibrant, though much of that may have to do with the incessant tweaking done in post. Just about every scene in the film has been color timed to some degree. Add in the fact that nearly all of it was shot against green screens and the result is a well-defined picture that also looks a bit like the “Star Wars” prequels (1999-2005)– live actors operating within a not-so-live universe, obviously so. The picture’s biggest detraction is the CGI work, nearly all of which is subpar. In fact, some of the worst rendering is so poor it makes the already-marginal stuff look passable. Buildings and ships appear as massive, lifeless structures, filling space and nothing more. Contrast is strong, though it does falter when the action moves into darker quarters. The image holds up well in shadow, only losing some minor details to the darkness. The 3D picture follows the same path as the 2D image, although with the advantage of adding more depth with the 3D visuals. It holds up fairly well for an up-converted transfer, there's a little ghosting but only minor and lasts seconds here and there. Otherwise the 3D transfer looks pretty good.
Audio
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) is a powerful brute. One area where the sound excels is in separation of effects. Arrows whiz by, swords clash and clang, and heavy blows reverberate with sonic impact. The range is incredible, sweeping across the entire array of available speakers effortlessly. When Hercules first enters the coliseum in Greece to do battle, the announcer’s voice deftly switches between left and right speakers as the camera moves around the arena. Dialogue is clear and audible, though there were a few moments when the levels were a bit low, requiring a boost in volume. This isn’t a film that relies on dialogue to carry it, and every battle – both large and small – carries with it the weight commensurate with such struggles. Composer Tuomas Kantelinen’s score features many classical compositions, fitting in perfectly with the time period. The disc also includes a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track, and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround track, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo descriptive audio track. Subtitles are available in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate probably didn’t feel the need to gift “The Legend of Hercules” with a stacked Blu-ray after the film bombed so hard, but they did include an audio commentary and a decent making-of featurette plus a handful of bonus trailers and a digital copy of the film in 2D. The audio commentary features director Renny Harlin and star Kellan Lutz. Harlin starts off extremely enthusiastic, commanding control of the track up until the moment Lutz’s character appears on screen. From that point onward, the two have a lively discussion covering Harlin’s take on the material, Lutz’s portrayal of such a storied character, and so forth. “The Making of The Legend of Hercules” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 14 minutes and 46 seconds. Harlin does most of the talking here, discussing how he views Hercules as the “original superhero”, how his take on the material differs from what’s come before, etc. Bonus trailers (1080p) are included for the following: - “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” runs for 1 minute and 40 seconds. - “Divergent” runs for 2 minutes and 23 seconds. - “Ender’s Game” runs for 1 minute and 35 seconds. - “Escape Plan” runs for 1 minute and 17 seconds. - “AXS TV” promo runs for 32 seconds. The disc is also enabled with a bookmarks interactive feature. An HD digital copy code is included for redemption with Ultraviolet participators.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a Blu-ray eco case. A slip-cover which replicates the cover art is included on first pressing
Overall
It’s not the best Hercules film ever made, and it might not even be the best this year, but Harlin’s effort does have a modicum of strong moments. Casting martial arts extraordinaire Scott Adkins certainly helped punch up the action scenes, no pun intended. The film is rote as they come, and the poor CGI visuals do little to take attention away from a hackneyed plot. If you go in with expectations on a subterranean level, it’s possible they may be slightly exceeded.
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