Kull the Conqueror (1997)

Kull the Conqueror (1997) Starring: Kevin Sorbo, Tia Carrere, Thomas Ian Griffith, Litefoot, Roy Brocksmith, Harvey Fierstein, Karina Lombard, Edward Tudor-Pole, Douglas Henshall, Joe Shaw, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Terry O'Neill, Pat Roach, John Hallam, and Peter Petruna Directed By: John Nicolella Review COURAGE CONQUERS ALL. Epic this was not. The 90s is when sword & Sorcery movies really turned into even major stinkers. This is based on another Robert E. Howard character Kull of Atlantis. It makes sense considering the most financially successful sword/sorcery film was Conan another one of Robert's characters. This I feel bombed because woof. Not to mention before he created Conan he created Kull. This was even suppose to be the third Conan movie. The sword and sorcery genre was even making a comeback but mostly on television with Xena and a Hercules show with Kevin Sorbo as Hercules who would be Kull in this movie. A barbarian named Kull becomes ruler after defeating the old king in battle, thus receiving his crown. But direct heirs of the king, trying to topple Kull and regain the throne, bring an old witch queen Akivasha back to life. Their plan backfires, however, as Akivasha plans to have her demon lords rule the kingdom alone. The only thing that can stop her is the breath of the god Volka, and Kull. The film starts off with text about a demon that's read to you. Apparently the movie thinks we're idiots who can't read. If a movie has text I don't think it should ever be read to you. We cut to Kull battling men in an army to join the ranks of the kingdom. It is given the word that the king was assassinated Kull kills the kings killer and is proclaimed as the new king. The more with move on the more bored I got, it doesn't help that the film has no charisma. Everyone here looks like their bored as hell which made me bored. The action scenes some were okay others were just lame. The special effects and production design are terrible almost as if they were made for a TV movie. The end when you see the demon in its full form is some horrendous CGI. The backdrops look like there green screen in some shots, I bet they were. The direction from John Nicolella is just as awful as the production design. He should have asked for a better script and done a better job at shooting some of the fight scenes. The only decent I can say about this movie is Karina Lombard is one hot woman. Kull the Conqueror is not a great introduction to the character and is another poor adaptation on one of Robert E. Howard's characters much like Red Sonja, only thing is this is even worse. I'm giving Kull The Conqueror a one out of five.

This is a mindless adaptation of the popular Robert E. Howard stories, made in the same vein as and to appeal to the same fans of HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, a long-running '90s TV series which saw Kevin Sorbo as the muscle-bound hero, fighting off bad guys with plenty of humour and a distinct lack of edge. Although Sorbo actually kills people in this film, it's nevertheless a bloodless affair, packed with cheesy special effects, lots of light action, and an incredibly annoying wah-wah guitar playing over the soundtrack that destroys any mock medieval mood they might have been aiming for straight away.The low budget is evident from the absolutely cheesy effects they use, from dodgy mutant makeup to a fiery demon at the climax, which I actually quite liked in terms of its design. Elsewhere there are some funny looking backgrounds but for the most part this is just a typical beat-em-up as Sorbo fights off soldiers, bad guys plot together, and not a great deal happens in terms of drama or wit. Let's just say that this bears absolutely no relation to the Howard stories that it originated from: in those Kull was a barbaric, vicious hero who had no trouble lopping off heads and limbs, and as an adaptation this is an absolute travesty. As a piece of late '90s fantasy fluff – and we have to remember that the genre didn't exist outside of television during this decade – it's mildly passable in places.I've always liked Sorbo as a lead; he has an amiable, friendly aura about him and the fact that he doesn't take himself too seriously counts for a lot. A lot of these films and productions trade on that good humour for effect. Mention has to be made of Tahitian-born love interest Karina Lombard, who is absolutely gorgeous in this film and a definite highlight, although ironically the better-known actress in this, Tia Carrere, is absolutely awful. She plays a red-haired witch who looks extremely puffy and pasty for the entire production and there's no sense of menace, evil or really anything from her: she's just a bad actress overacting in the part.Secondary villain duties go to bad-guy-for-hire Thomas Ian Griffith (VAMPIRES), who had a short career as an action hero in the early '90s. I quite like Griffith in a low-rent way so not much to say about him. Interesting that they rounded out the cast with the likes of Sven-Ole Thorsen (Arnie's frequent double), Brit musician Ed Tudor-Pole and wispy Scots actor Douglas Henshall (PRIMEVAL). Anyway, give this one a miss unless you're a die-hard Sorbo fan as it has no connection with the fantasy genre as we know it.

While this movie is no "Conan", it still was rather entertaining, and even more so if you enjoy the fantasy adventure genre.Story-wise, then the movie was quite stereotypical; a conflict of good versus evil, an underdog that will rise to be king against every possible odd.The story is about Kull, a former pirate slave, who happens to earn the throne and Crown to the Kingdom of Valusia. But dark things stir beneath an otherwise calm kingdom, and a wretched wizard brings back to life an ancient and long dead sorceress queen. To save the kingdom, Kull embarks upon a treacherous quest to the frozen north.The costumes and props were quite good in the movie, and really helped to bring the fantasy world to life. And I must say that I really liked the designs of the armors in "Kull the Conqueror".The music was adequate. Most of the time it was suitable and fitting for a sword and sorcery fantasy movie. But there were times where the music took on a heavy metal twist, which was really awkward and misplaced.As for the cast, then I will admit that they actually put together a good ensemble of acting talents for the movie. Kevin Sorbo is cut out for the sword and sorcery genre, no doubt about it. But Tia Carrere really brought something good to the movie with her usual charm and also with her portrayal of Akivasha.If you enjoy sword and sorcery and the fantasy genre, then you should sit down to watch "Kull the Conqueror", because it is an entertaining movie.

It's entertaining enough in spite of being pretty dumb, but I can't quite give it a good rating. I haven't seen much of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but I've seen enough to know that Kevin Sorbo's performance in that show is identical to his performance as Kull. The acting is about what you'd expect it to be in a mediocre sword & sorcery flick, Harvey Fierstein is particularly amusing. The makeup and costume design is good enough (save the final expensive Halloween decoration that is Akivasha's final incarnation), but nothing to write home about. Tia Carrere is a pretty generic antagonist, and she almost exactly repeats a line from The Empire Strikes Back - "I have altered our pact. Pray I don't alter it any further."Silly as the movie is, at least it doesn't drag with its 95 minute runtime, something several fantasy films in recent years are guilty of.