STACK Magazine December Issue 122

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Big Herc has enjoyed a mini
revival of late – hot on the
heels of Renny Harlin’s The
Legend of Hercules comes Brett
Ratner’s 3D sword and sandal
spectacular, with a perfectly cast
Dwayne Johnson rocking it as
the eponymous Greek demigod.
Where Harlin’s film resembled
TV’s Spartacus sans sex and gore, Ratner’s beefed up
version is like Clash of the Titans , complete with CGI
creatures for the hero to slay. Having completed the
legendary Twelve Labours and now living as a mortal
man, Hercules joins a band of swords-for-hire to train
the armies of Thrace – a kingdom under threat from a
nasty warlord. But Herc’s no mere merc; he’s a noble
warrior on a date with destiny. Ratner mightn’t be
the world’s greatest director, but we’ll cut him some
slack here for delivering an old school adventure that
moves at a cracking pace, features some pretty damn
impressive action set pieces and 3D, and surprisingly
clocks in at a thrifty hour and a half. Like its muscular
star, there’s no fat on this Hercules.
Cowabunga! Who would have
thunk back in 1984 that this
ridiculous sounding quartet of
superheroes would escape the
pages of a comic book to take
over cartoons, movies, video
games and cosplay. “Turtle
Power” has endured, and with
performance capture technology
having recently revived (and
revolutionised) the dormant
Planet of the Apes franchise, now
it’s the Turtles’ turn – rising from hibernation with a spiffy
new photorealistic makeover. Producer Michael Bay and
director Jonathan Liebesman have started from scratch,
introducing the heroes in a half shell to a new generation.
This time round it’s Megan Fox (having made peace with
Bay since their Transformers tiff?) as New York reporter
April O’Neill, who discovers that the vigilantes targeting
the notorious Foot Clan crime gang are six-foot tall
talking turtles, with the names of Renaissance artists
and an appetite for pizza. Michael Bay’s involvement tells
you what you should expect from this reboot, but rest
assured, TMNT is cooler and much more fun than one of
his Transformers films. • See page 48
Before he was a legend, he was a man.
HERCULES
DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
Heroes in a half shell.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
BD ONLY
Digital Reality
In Your Face! The Turtles
in 3D
It Ain’t Easy Being Green
Evolutionary Mash-Up
Turtle Rock
Extended Ending
“Shell Shocked” Music
Video
Making of “Shell Shocked”
JB Hi-Fi Exclusive
3D Blu-ray/ Blu-ray
Steelbook
BD ONLY
Extended Cut
Commentary by Director
Brett Ratner and Producer
Beau Flynn
Brett Ratner and Dwayne
Johnson: An Introduction
Hercules and his
Mercenaries
Weapons!
The Bessi Battle
The Effects of Hercules
15 Deleted/Extended
Scenes
JB Hi-Fi Exclusive
3D Blu-ray/ Blu-ray
The Legend of Hercules
Clash of the Titans (2010)
TMNT (2007)
visit
072
REVIEWS DVD&BD
Release Date:10/12/14
Format:
Release Date: 17/12/14
Format:
TOP HITS
TOP HITS
This film is based on the
graphic novel Hercules:
The Thracian Wars.
The film was originally
to be called just “Ninja
Turtles”, but “Teenage
Mutant” was added
following a (justifiable)
backlash from fans.