Directed by: Peter Yates
Starring: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, and Freddie Jones
Reviewer: Brett Gallman
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Reviewer's Rating: ** (Two Stars)
Krull prophesizes about a queen and king who will rule the world before their progeny rules the universe, but it may have well prophesized about a guy who will do a lot of walking. In fact, when Randal Graves went on his Lord of the Rings rant in Clerks II, he may well have had Krull in mind. Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) is the one doing all the ambling; he somehow rustles up a band of merry men to aid in his quest to rescue his princess (Lysette Anthony) from the vaguely omnipotent force that’s kidnapped her. I’m not sure how he managed such a feat because I’d have a hard time being compelled to follow him to a grocery store, much less to my own possible death. At any rate, Liam Neeson is one of the bandits, and it’s arguable he should have been the lead instead.
Peter Yates directed a lot of great films (The Friends of Eddie Coyle being one), but this one is mostly a ponderous bore as our heroes move from one special effects showcase to another. Occasionally, a giant (and oddly eloquent) cyclops hurls a spear to save the day. Meanwhile, the our princess hangs out in a cavernous cardboard set where’s she’s taunted by the disembodied voice of the villain, who is eventually revealed to be a giant animatronic monster that’s quite distinctive looking. An obvious attempt to mash up the space opera craze started by Star Wars and the burgeoning sword and sorcery trend, Krull really doesn’t do much besides splash some lasers around in a typical fantasy environment.
It’s seemingly hailed as one of the better 80s sword and sorcery flicks, but I suspect anyone who does that is going on their memories as a 12 year old, who no doubt would have enjoyed the film’s central message: it’s always good to have a spear-chucking cyclops on your side.
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