Taking his turn as the mighty Hercules, Dwayne Johnson dons the breast plate, a lion’s head headpiece and wields his club in this action adventure now on Blu-ray and DVD. The film takes a new twist on the mighty hero adding new excitement to the powerful son of Zeus. The film’s a guilty pleasure for most males who need an extra shot of adrenaline to make their day. The Blu-ray combo pack includes both Blu-ray and DVD and can be downloaded using Ultraviolet for those on the go.
In this story about the great son of Zeus we find Hercules (Johnson) completing the twelve labors set by Zeus’s wife. The film leads into a skirmish with Hercules and his band of five warriors against marauders who have been destroying towns for their plunder. At the kingdom of Trace, Hercules meets with Lord Coyts (John Hurt) and introduces him to his warriors Amphiaraus (Ian McShane) who carries a bladed staff, Autolycrus (Rufus Sewell) a knife thrower with pinpoint accuracy, Tydeus (Aksel Hennie) who prefers axes as his choice of weapon, Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) who uses his brain and Atalanta (Ingrid Bolso Berdal) a proficient archer.
At a banquet Lord Coyts tells Hercules about the troubles of Trace and how it has been divided between King Eurystheus (Joseph Fiennes) and the evil Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann). He wants to defeat Rhesus in a final battle and offers his army that has been whittled down during the war. In return he will give riches to Hercules if he can take down his enemy and free the kingdom once and for all. So begins the adventure with Hercules and his men against incredible odds.
Although the film does have a very good storyline and the actors make their characters believable, the production lacks in sound quality. Director Brett Ratner (Tower Heist) keeps the pace of the film moving nicely following the introduction of the characters and the quest Hercules decides to take on. But the excitement dwindles with the lack of a good explosive soundtrack that most action films use to ramp up battles and other adventure scenes. Sound is fifty percent of the enjoyment within most all movies and if this part fails, the movie becomes somewhat dull and lifeless.
That said, because of the extremely good fighting choreography, costuming and battle action the film does rise above average. I enjoyed watching Dwayne Johnson in the role of the mighty Hercules. He not only brings brawn to the table, but a keen sense of humor that saves a lot of his scenes. Along with a very good supporting cast of dedicated actors, the movie races on to an exciting finish.
BONUS FEATURES:
The bonus extras are actually very good and not only entertaining but informational as well.
First off, there’s not only the theatrical version of the film, but an extended one as well. Director Brett Ratner and Producer Beau Flynn team up for the Audio Commentary adding the educational part for those who are budding filmmakers. In addition they have included the digital download Ultraviolet and have added Descriptive Audio for the sight challenged.
“Weapons!” this feature goes over each character and the weapons they use in battles they fight. Each actor had help from weapons professionals.
“The Bessi Battle” The purple tribesmen in the first battle with Hercules are featured. This short goes over the make-up, costumes and fighting choreography and casting of the 250 men needed to stage the war.
“Brett Ratner and Dwayne Johnson: An Introduction” takes you through the origins, Dwayne Johnson’s comments on the production and some of the key points of the filming.
“Hercules and the Mercenaries” each of the characters talks about their roles and break down their characters and training.
“The Effects of Rhesus” features John Bruno visual effects supervisor and John Ratner who show how many of the scenes were shot with the use of special effects equipment.
“Deleted and Extended Scenes” there are 15 deleted scenes for your enjoyment.
And more
The video quality of the film at 1080p HD gives the film a letterbox view, but contains the whole widescreen with no scene loss. I found the film bright and with very little distortion.
The sound quality using the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 does allow for perfect reception of the dialogue. But as previously said, the background soundtrack with music is muted somewhat and does affect the energy of the action on the screen. Even with my sound bar ramped up, the bass and midrange doesn’t help the liveliness of the combat.
Hercules has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity. The battle scenes are realistic at times and get gory. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, Joseph Fiennes, Rufus Sewell, Tobias Santelmann and John Hurt
Director: Brett Ratner
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity
Genre: Action Adventure
Running Time: Theatrical Version 98 min, Extended Version 101 min
Video Release Date: November 4, 2014
Original Film Release Date: July 25, 2014
Language: English (Blu-ray- optional English Descriptive Audio, French and Spanish languages; DVD- optional English Descriptive Audio and Spanish language)
Format: Blu-ray/DVD, also available in 3D Blu-ray
Audio: Blu-ray- DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, DVD- Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Blu-ray- 1080p HD, DVD- Widescreen enhanced for 16×9 Televisions
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 discs + Ultraviolet
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
