Hercules (2014) [Blu-ray]

Wow! This 3d Blu-ray is beautiful. If you have a 3D TV and 3d Blu-ray player don't hesitate to get this one because the whole movie has a great 3d effect. The movie itself is much, much better than some reviews would lead you to believe. It holds your interest to the very end. Very well done.

Last summer saw a rebirth of the Hercules legend with its genesis in Hollywood with Mr. America/Pro. Universe, Steve Reeves (the muscle man who was featured in comic books that created a generation of bullied youths who took up the sport with the view of payback) which later featured Arnold Schwarzenegger's role model as an aspiring bodybuilder in Austria, the next major champion to defeat Steve Reeves as Mr. Pro. Universe, U.K.'s Reg Park (who was given first class travel arrangements and accommodations for his role), which will later be played by Lou Ferrigno (who had the most successful run of Hercules movies and whom most cinema audiences associate with the Hercules franchise), a role which Arnold will later assume in the box office flop Hercules in New York; given the fact that the last Hercules movie featuring Arnold was in the seventies, Renny Harlin figured it was time to reboot the entire franchise with a box office flop entitled, The Legend of Hercules, in the same manner that Rupert Wyatt deemed necessary to reboot the critically acclaimed Planet of the Apes franchise that was based on Pierre Boulle's Ape Planet, which had a successful run in the seventies as a box office trilogy and was serialized for TV - given its unsuccessful reboot as a franchise by Tim Burton, resulting in a similar reboot to the Hercules franchise this summer in a phenomenal box office hit by Brett Ratner, featuring awesome CGI by Double Negative, and the most awesome physique since Arnold and Lou - with Dwayne Johnson, playing Hercules and the handsome Ingrid Bolso Berdal playing Atalanta, the only female heroine, with Hercules being commissioned by King Eurystheus to serve as protector of Rome to defeat twelve mythical creatures that was threatening the empire, which was supposedly sent by his father, Zeus' wife, Hera, to task Hercules owing to jealousy over her husband having mated with a mortal woman, Hercules' mother, Alcmene, following which he butchered Hercules's family and spread rumors to the effect that Hercules had butchered his wife, Megara, and their children, and, having done so, banished Hercules from Rome, following which Hercules transforms into a mercenary for hire and finds himself being commissioned by Lord Coty to train an army of peasant to rise against Rhesus (which gave birth to Obama and John Kerry's strategy in Syria and Iraq) - who was the only one who rose in protest against Lord Cotys after he has poisoned Ergenia's husband to claim the throne, with Hercules, eventually, uncovering the truth from Ergenia and turning against Lord Cotys, who was colluding with King Eurystheus in an attempt at world conquest, and, having done so, discovering Hercules defying him, and unearthing the truth about what King Eurystheus did to his family, and, thereby, turning against the invincible army he had trained and successfully defeating them, defying the prediction of his oracle, Amphiaraus - who had prophesized Hercules' and his own death, thereby, claiming his rightful place as the legend of a true hero, which resides in each and everyone one of us as Mariah Carey implied in her song, Hero.

I guess I hit the jackpot so-to-speak. I received a Best Buy version with the exclusive bonus disc and extended cut. Even the old digital code still worked that states it may expire on 11/4/2016). 5 stars for the version received, 3.5 stars for the movie. Not sure Dwayne Johnson was the right fit, but the 3D was awesome.

*NO SPOILERS ABOUT "THIS MOVIE" - NOTE: "Hercules Reborn" has absolutely nothing to do with this movie.Some people get into "cult of personality" as the expression goes; however Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. "The Rock" of WWE) has consistently proven himself to be multi-talented as an actor, a producer, and an artist in general. Brains and brawn, a rare combination, but Dwayne Johnson has both, and in Hercules, it really shows because after all, what better way to show off an eclectic artistic skill set than playing one of the greatest of the Greek Mythic Heroes and Demigods? There can't be many.Ok, a couple of things about this film that many people have probably seen articles about in various places; In summary, "The preview trailers lied."Hercules is a fairly tangible and realistic interpretation and portrayal of the story of Hercules based on one simple concept, "All myths have some sort of basis in reality," and as a concept, the writers, producers, and actors undoubtedly had a lot of fun making this film.With backstory and ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ( yes, they actually have more than decent character development for this film ), being such an important part of the viewing experience, "The Extended Cut" is essential because without the extended scenes, a lot of the elements that really drive the heart of the story home are otherwise missing. Essentially "The Extended Cut" should be regarded moreso as "The Whole Movie" when it comes to this film.The above being said, Hercules: Extended Cut , is more than just a heroic adventure, it also has a lot of heart, humor, depth, and even gets people to think more critically about any times in life where perhaps peoples' imaginations have either been captivated or simply having gotten the best of them because of a great story.The whole family loves this movie, and it is highly, highly, highly recommended that more people see it because it's great fun, and a great story from beginning to end.