The Legend of Hercules 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

The Legend of Hercules 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

My The Cabin in the Woods 4K Blu-ray review mentioned how Lionsgate is seemingly randomly going through its vast catalog and upgrading certain titles for the 4K UHD format. Looking back on it now, these sometimes strange choices included August’s release of The Lincoln Lawyer 4K, but Lionsgate's 4K UHD release strategy (?) really caught my eye in September, with RED 4K and RED 2 4K accompanying The Cabin in the Woods 4K on its early September release date. Now Lionsgate is back in mid September with two more kind of odd choices for 4K UHD upgrades (in addition to this, Lionsgate is also bringing out Conan the Barbarian 4K), at least in terms of how the films have been received critically and with regard to boxoffice appeal.

The Legend of Hercules 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

The Legend of Hercules is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. The Legend of Hercules was digitally captured with Red cameras and finished at a 2K DI. There are some interesting differences in the 4K UHD version, though the patently fake look of the largely green screened feature which I addressed in the The Legend of Hercules 3D Blu-ray review is probably only more noticeable here at the higher resolution. This tendency is obvious from the very first shots in the film, where the CGI clouds look like something out of a videogame, something that stylistically recurs throughout the presentation. That said, detail on practical elements like costumes and, you know, actual humans is often extremely precise and textured looking, helping the film achieve a little depth that the relentless CGI doesn't. HDR has added some rather beautiful new tones to the presentation, with some of the brightly lit outdoor moments having a really interesting green-yellow hue that isn't in evidence on the 1080p Blu-ray version. The film's prevalence of gray tones looks more fully saturated in this version, and the long blue sequence toward the end of the film is incredibly rich looking in a way that isn't as evident in the Blu-ray version. Some slight noise accrues in some the darker sequences.

The Legend of Hercules 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both The Legend of Hercules and Conan the Barbarian 4K have received audio upgrades on 4K UHD, with both releases being given extremely effective Dolby Atmos tracks. I gave top marks to the 1080p Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, but there's new energy in some of the effects work, with some really fun sounding midair panning accompanying things like the onslaught of spears that begins the film. The ambient effects that I discuss in the The Legend of Hercules 3D Blu-ray review are arguably even more present in the Atmos track, with, for example, those labor cries echo clearly overhead in a way that they don't on the Blu-ray track. This film's score also provides a constant supply of nicely immersive moments. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range extremely wide on this very enjoyable track.

The Legend of Hercules 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc ports over the minimal supplementary material detailed in our The Legend of Hercules 3D Blu-ray review. For the record, the Blu-ray disc included with this package is the combo 3D/2D version.

The Legend of Hercules 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Probably even more so than with regard to Conan the Barbarian, it's hard (if not downright impossible) to recommend a film this relentlessly silly, but the 4K UHD version offers some nice if patently fake looking visuals and a really effective Dolby Atmos track.