Exiled by his tyrant stepfather, the Greek demigod Hercules (Kellan Lutz) fights off armies and gruesome warriors to reunite with his lady love in "The Legend Of Hercules." Now, if you've been paying attention, at first glance, "The Legend Of Hercules" looks like another "300" wannabe. "300" gained commercial success from its stylish use of CGI and unrelenting action draped in the background of ancient history. Since then, films like "Immortals" and "Pompeii" hoped (and hope) to repeat the formula to guaranteed profits. My apprehension to review this film and similar others comes out of a simple complaint: when a film does something new, shaking up the market, imitators come out of the woodwork. They're watered-down shells of the predecessor: boring and uninspired. But how does "The Legend Of Hercules" fare in this scene? It is so bad, it's punched through to the other side: gleeful over-the-top silliness.
The usual elements of this genre of the absurd are prevalent: wooden acting, egregious cinematography, laughable effects. When Hercules is forced to row on a prison ship, the composition of the ship vs. background is inappropriately layered; I feel someone has filmed the stage production. Soldiers scream when they fall off of cliffs (a movie cliche I hold dear to my heart). The dialogue between Hercules and his love feels unnatural, their performance bare-bones. "The Legend Of Hercules" comes off as a Sci-Fi original movie with a budget.
A movie that's "so bad it's good" walks a fine line throughout every viewing. Luckily, "The Legend Of Hercules" never irritated me to a level where I'd walk out. The movie revels in its playfulness, coming off more like a Saturday matinee serial. It seems fair then that after the first two acts, we get the feature presentation. The last half hour explodes, delivering spectacle and testosterone-fueled satisfaction. In such a simple story, these late developments surprised me. I cared about these characters I'd been mocking for the last hour; the movie snuck around, got me invested. With a couple bursts of good writing and acting, I got sucked in at the end, ultimately leaving me with a happy, dumb smile on my face. I think that sums up the movie best: it's happy and dumb. Wait a couple months, grab some popcorn and your funniest friends, and make the best of a lazy Sunday. Thanks for reading, as always. I'm the Man Without A Plan, signing off.
"The Legend Of Hercules" trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcdhyaP0T7g
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