Absolutely Average and Below in Every Way, this by the Numbers Filmmaking from a Very Inconsistent Director is so Unremarkable that it Barely Exists and is in Danger of Fading from Memory So Fast that the Mythology of Hercules is Safe.
This is Not Awful, Not Good, Not Much of Anything. It just Sort of Lies there with Nothing to Say, Attract Attention or be Concerned About. The Acting is Across the Board Boring. The Story is Unfaithful to its Source Material and the Story being Told is so Familiar and Stale that even Youngsters will be Disappointed.
It is Disposable and Dull with that Old PG-13 Curse of Banality and Yawn Inducing Action Scenes (that are worse when dealing with swords, spears, and Gladiator type mayhem) that the Battles are Rendered War Weary from the Outset.
Overall, Not the Worst Thing ever, but if You are Going to Watch it, do it Soon before it Ceases to Exist like the Pools of Sweat from a Strenuous Workout.
The Legend of Hercules
2014
Action / Adventure / Fantasy
The Legend of Hercules
2014
Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Plot summary
In Ancient Greece 1200 B.C., a queen succumbs to the lust of Zeus to bear a son promised to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the king and restore peace to a land in hardship. But this prince, Hercules, knows nothing of his real identity or his destiny. He desires only one thing: the love of Hebe, Princess of Crete, who has been promised to his own brother. When Hercules learns of his greater purpose, he must choose: to flee with his true love or to fulfill his destiny and become the true hero of his time. The story behind one of the greatest myths is revealed in this action-packed epic - a tale of love, sacrifice and the strength of the human spirit.
Uploaded by: OTTO
April 03, 2014 at 07:53 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
3D.BLU 720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Soon it Will Evaporate from Existence
no charisma lead
In 1200 B.C. Greece, King Amphitryon conquers Argos by killing its ruler. Queen Alcmene is tired of his constant war. Hera allows her to have a baby with Zeus who would grow up to be the half-God champion Hercules (Kellan Lutz). He falls in love with Princess Hebe of Crete but his jealous older half-brother Iphicles announces his marriage to her. Hercules is sent to Egypt where he is set up for an ambush and sold into slavery.
The opening fight is slightly interesting. It tries to be 300 but it's not as good. It starts out as a cheaper version of that style. That would be fine but it only gets worst from there. Kellan Lutz comes in and the muscle-bound dude is not charismatic enough to lead. The action style becomes cheaper and weaker. This Greek epic story has never seem less compelling.
It looks like a cheap cartoon
Finnish director Renny Harlin continues to disgrace himself with this ultra-cheesy version of the Greek story which is frankly an embarrassment and stain on the career of all involved. THE LEGEND OF HERCULES is one of three similarly-themed films that came out around the same time; one is a B-movie with Sean Astin and the other a Hollywood blockbuster with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. The other two will need to be pretty bad to equal the poor quality of this one.
THE LEGEND OF HERCULES feels and looks like a cheap cash-in copy of 300 for the most part. Scott Adkins, who plays the stock villain in the film, is even dressed up to look like King Leonidas in his early scenes. The hero is played by Kellan Lutz, who played in support in THE EXPENDABLES 3 but has no discernible talent for his leading role here. In fact, he's dreadful. He may have a huge, Schwarzenegger-style physique, but he makes Schwarzenegger's acting style look like Laurence Olivier's by comparison.
It doesn't help that the below-par script was written by Sean Hood among others; Hood similarly fumbled the recent CONAN THE BARBARIAN remake, although that was better than this. There's little story and instead plenty of CGI-enhanced action including war scenes and fights with dodgy-looking lions. Some of the fight scenes aren't too bad, but they're overly stylised and feature silly scenes of characters doing superhuman jumps through the air and messing around instead of finishing off their opponents quickly.
All that was left for me to do was to sit back and count the appearances by actors from no less than four TV shows. Gaia Weiss, from VIKINGS, is the love interest, and Roxanne McKee (GAME OF THRONES) plays Hercules's mum, although of course she's far too young for the part. Kenneth Cranham (ROME) shows up as a slave trader. Best of all is Liam McIntyre (SPARTACUS) playing Hercules's friend and ally. I was amused to see that McIntyre is given an ugly fringe haircut so that he doesn't distract from Lutz's appearance. Anyone who has watched and enjoyed SPARTACUS will know McIntyre would have been far better in the lead role.