Krull

Starring: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Liam Neeson, Robbie Coltrane
Directed by: Peter Yates
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Fantasy
1983

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) is devastated when his bride-to-be (Lysette Anthony) is kidnapped by alien invaders who are determined to overtake the planet. He must travel around the globe to build an army and obtain the necessary weapons to infiltrate the lair of Krull and save the world.

Review:

Tim: Krull is a movie that is easy to hate. I am not sure how many futuristic/medieval movies there are, but I imagine not many. The very idea (though unique) is a bit hard to fathom. This was also an early 80s movie, which makes it even easier to shoot holes in. While I wholly admit this is a flawed, silly, oftentimes stupid movie, it also surprised me with some strengths I did not expect. While this is still a less than stellar movie, I didn't quite hate it, either.

I have to admit the first twenty minutes or so are just terrible. I don't know why this mostly swords-and-horses movie needed to have the futuristic alien aspects. I suppose this could have worked if you were simply trying to make this movie as different as possible (or trying to rip-off/capitalize on the success of Star Wars). However, besides the novelty effect, it hurts the movie because it just seems cheesy. Once the movie gets past this opening, it starts to improve. I was shocked at how epic this movie oftentimes felt. The cinematography of the awe-inspiring landscape was beautiful. I found myself getting caught up in the visuals, even if I wasn't buying the story. While the special effects are cheesy today, they still retain a bit of their impressive qualities from 1983. They are easily forgivable.

One of the biggest problems with this film is the cast. Ken Marshall is perhaps the most bland, boring, yawn-inducing hero of a fantasy sci-fi movie of all time. I wanted to fall asleep every single time I saw him. What makes it even worse is how serious he plays the part. It is laughable how much effort he put into the role, and how little that effort paid off. I actually thought Lynette Anthony worked well as Princess Lyssa, but I wasn't impressed by the American dubbing of her voice. The rest of the cast are decent, but I did love seeing Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane in early-career roles.

Yes, there are some legitimately entertaining moments throughout this film. Hollywood doesn't make nearly enough fantasy epics, and so it was a bit of a pleasure to watch this one. However, this movie does more wrong than it does right, and it doesn't help that the characters are forgettable and occasionally laughable. Krull is impressive because it is not worse (this could have been a massive disaster), but it still can only be called a failure.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, The Last Starfighter