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Directed by: John Nicolella Starring: Kevin Sorbo, Litefoot, Tia Carrere There weren’t all that many fantasy films made between the end of the Stars Wars craze in the mid-1980’s and the recently completed Lord of the Rings series. Maybe the over-saturation of Jedi and Conan rip-offs spoiled the genre for mainstream audiences, but for whatever reason, it was a pretty silent period for fans of high adventure and sorcery. Perhaps the most memorable entry into the genre of that period would be the Hercules television series starring Kevin Sorbo. It started off with a few made for TV moves, but quickly developed into a weekly, hour long show. If I were a betting man at the time, I would have put up the farm on Sorbo becoming the next big action star. His easy charisma and physical prowess made it seem like he was set to launch into stardom, but he never really went anywhere after Hercules finished its run. Before the series ended, he made what was essentially a larger budget version of the show; the Conan inspired Kull the Conqueror. Kull is a barbarian who has proven himself in battle, but has been unable to rise to greatness because of his humble roots. Somewhat by accident, he finds himself thrust into a world of nobility after the king goes mad and Kull is forced to kill him in self defense. At the same time, an ancient evil is revived by a wizard, and they plot to use Kull as a way to take the throne and restore the old world of Acheron. Kull has to deal with them as well as ambitious royals who wish to get rid of him, all while trying to lead his nation. It isn’t long before he is removed from power, but he doesn’t give up and sets out to rescue his people from the scheming factions that have tried to do away with him. In hindsight, it’s not hard to see why Kull was such a failure, both critically and financially. At its heart, it’s a really just a campy and cheesy adventure movie, which would probably play decently if there were other fantasy films for it to riff off of, but on its own, there’s no one there to get the joke. The ad campaign also didn’t do enough to distinguish the movie from the Hercules TV show, which probably caused some confusion for fans of the show who were expecting something else. It’s a pretty unremarkable movie, but it deserved to do better. However, it has also become easier to enjoy Kull for what it is with the passing of time. It has no aspirations for greatness, but it delivers a pretty enjoyable though somewhat generic fantasy adventure. While this obviously didn’t have the same kind of budget as the Lord of the Rings films, it still manages to create a convincing world for Kull to run around in, and the special effects and art direction are superior to the Herc show, recalling some of the magic of Harryhausen’s great films. It’s based on Robert E. Howard’s (creator of Conan) writings, and thankfully avoids the Euro-centricism that most other fantasy films fall victim to. Sorbo is pretty solid as Kull, and he gets to toss one liners and smash heads in equal degrees. His acting chops are a lot better than the average muscle-man, so his character is given a lot more to do than just chop people up, a nice change of pace for this kind of movie. Litefoot plays Kull’s sidekick, a traveling monk who helps him rescue the girl and teach him some humility. Tia Carrere makes a great turn as the villain Akivisha, a demonic hell-bitch intent on reclaiming her ancient kingdom. There is a lot of juvenile humor in the movie, but it’s pretty harmless, and many of the actors do well in their deliveries and timing. The wailing guitar soundtrack sticks out and seems quite silly, but like the rest of the film, it’s all in the name of good fun. If this movie took itself seriously, it would probably be a disaster, but as it is, it works out for the most part. If you’re a fan of fantasy or adventure films, you could do worse. RATING: 2.5 PROS: passable adventure flick CONS: nothing special ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119484/
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Jul 30, 2004 19:33
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