Krull

Rating: *** out of ****

Enough people have tried comparing to Krull to Star Wars that I won't even bother emphasizing the similarities aside from the fact that Krull's mythology isn't half as well thought out, but it's just as fun as anything in George Lucas' space opus, and that's good enough to earn a recommendation from me; at the very least, this is easily among the best of its respective genre (better than, say The Sword and the Sorcerer or Willow), and it is to these standards one will immediately realize if this movie is up their alley or not. It probably isn't.

Set on a faraway world known as Krull, the film opens with the oncoming invasion of the Slayers, a fearsome, planet-conquering army led by the Beast, whose lair is a spacecraft shaped like a large mountain called the Black Fortress. They've clearly got the sword-wielding residents of Krull outmatched, as the Slayers are armed with laser, though they curiously still use horses as a means of transportation.

Knowing the only way to stave off the invaders is to unite, the planet's two warring kingdoms set aside their differences so that Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) may be wed. In the middle of the wedding ceremony, the Slayers storm the palace, killing everyone except for Colwyn, and they take Lyssa back to the Fortress as a gift to the Beast. If this was really the extent of both kingdoms' armies, then I don't see how they could have stood even the slightest chance in a full-on war with the Slayers.

Anyway, the Beast has apparently chosen Lyssa to be his bride because he's aware of the prophecy that whomever she chooses to be her husband (and consequently the king), their eventual son will become ruler of the galaxy. Logically, I could only see this working if she chose the Beast, considering Colwyn has no means of interplanetary travel, which would make galaxy-ruling a bit of a tough task.

Determined to save his bride, Colwyn retrieves the five-bladed throwing star (think Alien vs. Predator) called the Glaive and recruits loyal followers during his journey (namely a band of criminals, including Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane). Hindering their quest is the fact that the Fortress automatically transports to a new location during every sunrise. This does beg the question why the Beast doesn't just blast off the planet with his bride-to-be than risk the slightest chance of Colwyn finding her...but I digress.

For all the moments of cheese (no moment unintentionally funnier than when Colwyn is able to recognize one of his men by a blood trail), unconvincing blue-screens, and occasional subpar effects, Krull still works dandily as a rollicking adventure. The cast is much better than usual for this kind of material, with Ken Marshall making for a charismatic and likable hero and lovable rogues like Neeson, Coltrane, and Alun Armstrong (whom I'll always remember as the traitorous Mornay in Braveheart) providing solid support. Lysette Anthony radiates beauty as Lyssa, she's easily one of the most drop-dead gorgeous princesses in cinema history. There's no question I'd go through the same trouble to rescue her as well.

Despite running a little over two hours, Krull moves at a consistently excellent pace, delivering good production values (loved the exterior and interior sets of the Black Fortress), beautiful locations (and thus, some lovely cinematography), and a number of exciting action sequences. The battle scenes are surprisingly well-choreographed; whatever the sword fights may lack in gritty violence is made up for by pure swashbuckling fun. Other terrific scenes include Colwyn's solo rock-climbing, the trek through the swamps, the adventurous ride on the Firemares, and the battle/chase within the Fortress. The action and adventure is given a great boost from James Horner's rousing score, one of the composer's personal best.

Director Peter Yates strictly adheres to fantasy formula, so there are no surprises to be found. The plot is occasionally baffling, essentially making up a lot of its own rules as it goes along (the old mentor telling Colwyn he can't use the Glaive until the right moment, a character staying behind because his "time is up" only to come to the rescue later, etc.). But it's all in good fun, and the movie is pieced together with moderate coherency and consistent momentum. Recommended to fans of 80s fantasy, Krull delivers the goods for those into this sort of thing.

The planet Krull has been invaded by a great evil The Beast. Two kingdoms have joined through the planned marriage of Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) and Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall). At the wedding, the forces of The Beast attack, kidnapping the princess, and massacring everyone else. Sole survivor Colwyn joins with a band of disparate characters on a quest to kill The Beast and rescue the princess.

This is a very simple good versus evil storyline. It's a quest road movie. David Battley is especially funny as the incompetent magician Ergo. All the iconic characters are there including the great Alun Armstrong as the bandit leader Torquil. And sharp eyes will see a younger Liam Neeson.

This along with Dragonslayer is my favorite British fantasy of that era. The stories are original and yet comfortably familiar. It had the FX but CG would soon make the miniature models and real sets old school. It didn't help that Return of the Jedi came out right before this. This movie has great cheese appeal, but is outclassed in production value by Jedi.

It's hard to rate this film in conventional terms. I am a sucker for this golden age of sci-fi fantasy. I did see it as an adult for the first time, so didn't imprint on it as a child. The good was wonderful and the bad was amusing. It's certainly derivative, but shines in moments of originality.

Plot: 6/10 (derivative fantasy; a cornucopia of Star Wars, Willow, LOTR and other classics) Art direction: 10/10 World/Magic: 10/10 Characters: 6/10 (none evoke much empathy, development is mostly shallow) Acting: 4/10 (mostly - a few good actors stood out) Locations: 9/10 Pace: moves quickly, stays dynamic. Definitely doesn't drag.

Better than Legend, not as good as Willow. Similar in overall style & quality to Labyrinth, except no Bowie, no muppets.

Lowkey cameos by: Galadriel/Shelob, ponyta, Starlord, Highlander, the princess from Legend, Fin Raziel, Sauron, Capt. Archer's beagle, necromongers/stormtroopers/ringwraiths, light sabers, Obi Won, John Carpenter's The Thing, Mt. Doom, Sarumon, Road Warriors, Lothlorien x Death Star, Jodorowsky's Dune. Granted, in some cases this came first. Watch the madness unfold. Enjoy.

This has always been one of my favorite movies for some reason. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's good; just that I like watching it.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone searching for a good fantasy title from the 80's. I would put "Krull" right up there with Ladyhawke, both Conan's, Willow, and the Dark Crystal.

What separates this fantasy film from the others is a plot involving a more science fiction- type element. Visitors from somewhere in space have landed on a planet named Krull to wreak havoc. After they snag up our hero, Prince Colwyn's bride-to-be, he goes on a quest to save her with the help of a star-shaped boomerang with knives called the Glaive and a band of strange characters including a cyclops and a goofy guy who can change into animals.

Good time fun worth the rental price. What else do you need here?

For film buffs, check out early performances by Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane.

I remember that when i saw this for the first time i wasn´t very impressed. I remember that i didn´t like the "laser" beams that came out of the bad guys weapons. I remember thinking KRULL wanted to be a STAR WARS but it wasn´t very good at it.

Then as the years passed, i got to watch KRULL on video, and somehow i started realy to like this movie. By this time i had read a couple of fantasy books and i started to appreciate the attention to details in KRULL and the way the whole concept was organized as a movie.

Since then, each time i see it, i realy enjoy it more. Ok, it´s not the perfect fantasy movie, but compared to the usual more recent unimaginative excuses for movies that come out of Hollywood, (see "Neverending Story III" or "Warriors of Virtue"), this movie KRULL is a brilliant fantasy masterpiece.

KRULL has an excelent and different atmosphere, a much, much better script than WILLOW, excellent characters, a fantastic magic weapon, a good set design and it follows the Dungeon and Dragons formula in a very imaginative way, compared to the more recent movies.

The actors do their jobs well, (try to spot Leam Neeson) the situations are imaginative and the soundtrack is realy good and very atmospheric also.

The only minor fault in this production, is the way in wich we can immediately tell, when the outdoor scenes are filmed in indoor studios, because there is immediately a big contrast between the natural magnificent landscapes and the ones that are built in the studio. Which is a shame because sometimes it spoils the movie atmosphere. Anyway, who cares! KRULL is an excellent fantasy movie, and someone should make a directors cut from it and re-release it, because it might teach many hollywood executives how a good fantasy movie should be made. Even with its flaws !

A fantastic High Fantasy movie ! Go see it. It´s a shame this movie is so forgotten. Excelent stuff.