Krull (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Krull (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Krull's rating
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie arrived in great shape. It's has a clear visual and the audio is satisfactory as well.Movie Review: Krull - A British Fantasy
Summary: 4 Stars
`From the sky will come the Black Fortress. From the Fortress will come the Slayers to devour the planet of Krull. Then shall a girl of ancient name become queen...she shall choose a king...and together they shall rule the planet. And their son shall rule the galaxy.'
For all of those people out there that were young when Star Wars was released, like me, I assume you also were drawn in at the video store by another fantasy action adventure movie by the name of Krull. It certainly had all the ingredients to follow on from the success of Star Wars. An indescribable monster and its army (the Slayers) attack the planet Krull. In order to stop the invaders, two hostile nations decide to join their forces by the marriage of Princess Lyssa and Prince Colwyn. During the ceremony, the Slayers attack the palace, kill both kings, wound Colwyn and kidnap Lyssa. The next morning, the wise Ynyr seeks and finds Colwyn. With Ynyr's help, Colwn gains possession of a magic weapon, a five bladed sword, and together they go on their quest for the indescribable monster's black fortress to free Lyssa.
The special effects however left a lot to be desired, although the gigantic spider that was as big as a house did salvage some respect. The acting however very rarely did, which is a shame as it starred some up and coming names, with Liam Neeson being possibly the biggest now. Yes the mentor to Obi Wan and Batman started off his early years as a criminal battling Slayers (sort of a Storm trooper type deal) under the control of the Beast.
Also Alun Armstrong appears as the leader of the band of criminals that help Colwyn rescue his bride. You may have seen him since in Braveheart, The Mummy Returns and Tim Burtons, Sleepy Hollow and if you look really hard you may even spot a young Robbie Coltrane as one of the gang members. Obviously all the younger readers will know Robbie from the Harry Potter films as lovable giant, Hagrid. And it wouldn't be a Star Wars-esque movie if it didn't have its comic relief, this time it comes in the guise of hapless wizard, Ergo. Very much along the lines of a C3P0 who claims to be great but inevitably is found behind a tree or at the back of the action. Played by David Battley, (also the school teacher in Willy Wonka) and introduces himself with `I am Ergo the magnificent. Short in stature, tall in power, narrow of purpose and wide of vision. And I do not travel with peasants and beggars. Goodbye!' and later states of Colwyn `He marches us towards a solid face of rock. The man has raisins in his braincase.'
But it is not just the actors that are of note, the Director, Peter Yates also directed Steve McQueen in a little movie called 'Bullitt' and has directed 3 actors to Oscar nominations: Barbara Barrie (Best Supporting Actress - Breaking Away) & Tom Courtenay/Albert Finney (Best Actor - The Dresser) and the writer, Stanford Sherman also is credited for many Man From U.N.C.L.E and Batman episodes as well as a small Clint Eastwood movie called `Any Which Way You Can`. James Horner who went on to compose the music for Titanic, Avatar, Braveheart and Troy also did the music for this film so you see, the talent was there for this to be an epic, and maybe if it had been released before Star Wars then maybe it would have claimed more plaudits, but it wasn't and it didn't but it is still well worth a look, if only to see the young actors before they were famous and probably the most coolest of fantasy weapons, the Glaive. Yes I almost forgot the Glaive, a spinning blade that can only be retrieved by the chosen one, pretty cool and something as a kid playing in the schoolyard I imagined I had when all others had imaginary lightsabers!
Movie Review: A DVD worthy of the Glaive, even if the movie itself isn't.
Summary: 4 Stars
Recently, I did a review for "The Black Hole" where I noted my childhood fascination with the film. Well, like any good child, it only took some other trend to lure me away. Drifting in-between Star Wars toys, I found myself drawn to the magical marketing of "Krull" and specifically the one weapon I would have given up a lightsaber for - the Glaive, a combination between a boomerang, a ninja star, and that ball from the Phantasm movies. Well, my desire for a Glaive was easily sated when a friend of mine and I took two small, thin strips of wood, laid them out in an X and pounded a bunch of nails in the center. Voila - instant Glaive. I even had the Krull video game for my super high tech Atari 2600.
But I digress...the same friend who helped make the Glaive some 18 years ago just bought me the DVD for my birthday. I hadn't seen the film in well over ten years, and eagerly popped it in. I recall thinking the film mediocre even as a child (hence why I hadn't seen it in so long), and that sensation was reinforced upon viewing it again on DVD.
The story itself is intriguing, akin to John Sayles' "Seven Samurai" sci-fi interpretation as seen in "Battle Beyond the Stars". "Krull", though, suffers from an uneven flow and lack of character development. The only prolonged scenes in the film are those of action, whereas the plot movement is reduced to nothing more than an explanation of why the characters are moving onto the next action sequence location. Character development doesn't just take a back seat, it's not even in the car. After some whisperings of dialogue at the very beginning about the situation on Krull, nothing further is really brought up to explain the pasts of the characters, the history of this unique world, or key insights into personalities which are so pivotal to ensemble films such as this. After the beginning, the movie seems to move forward assuming that "Damsel in distress, Hero to Rescue" in and of itself is compelling enough reason to watch the characters interact with various set pieces. It is not, which is why "Krull" is obvious in its ambition, attractive in its presentation, but ultimately hollow in delivering satisfaction.
Now, why the four stars? The DVD presentation is first-rate. Audio commentary, trailers, "Making of" features, and an extremely creative and entertaining presentation of the Marvel comic book adaptation (did I mention I had that, too?). This seems to be a hold-over from my days of collecting widescreen films on video. I was quick to notice then that the best stuff and most supported letterbox releasing came from distributors who put out cult films. In the days of DVD, this seems to translate to first-class presentation for sometimes second-class films.
That's ok. I'll take it, because I appreciate that these distributors understand the nature of a certain film's fan base and do what they can to make it a worthwhile business endeavour and customer purchase. The four-star rating is a show of support for high-quality releases such as this one, and a slight nod to nostalga. I can't recommend it to the casual viewer, but if you are a sci-fi freak or cult film collector, go ahead and take a chance. Odds are, you'll enjoy yourself.
Now, for your enjoyment, I'll end with my world-famous Leonard Maltin impression: look for Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltraine in early roles.
Movie Review: Cheese Galore, But Still Wonderful!
Summary: 4 Stars
Take the whiz-bang fantasy of films like the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy, mix in two parts "Star Wars," and add a pinch of modest flicks like "Legend," and you have the perfect formula for "Krull." Though the cheese factor is quite high, Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, and friends make the best of this fantasy/sci-fi flick.
Ten times better than the schlock on SciFi Channel, "Krull" has a little something for everyone. There's a nasty bad guy(The Beast) who is intent on taking over the universe with his floating fortress and his army of Slayers. Standing in the way is the love of Prince Colwyn and Princess Lyssa, which is said to bring about a future universal ruler and one of the coolest toys in the world of fantasy....the Glaive! There's a band of rogues who help Colwyn along the way. This group features future "Darkman" and "Schindler's List" star, Liam Neeson and future "Harry Potter" good guy Robbie Coltrane. There's a little swordplay, a little magic, and a little deception(gotta love the shapeshifters).
The acting isn't the best in the world, and neither are the special effects, but the story is interesting enough to move the picture along. Others have accused this film of ripping off films like "Star Wars" and novels such as "The Lord Of The Rings" books, but keep in mind that all of these stories, and just about every flick ever made for that matter, have borrowed something from other stories. Also, the tale of a prince searching for his damsel-in-distress has been around since storytellers first told tales.
The extras on this DVD are pretty limited. I haven't listened to the commentaries, because I'm not a big fan of such things, but the "Journey To Krull" featurette is a nice addition, and the obligatory photo galleries, trailers, etc. are all par for the course.
In closing, youngsters might be turned off by this movie since it honestly isn't up to par with its contemporaries of the time in both story and special effects. I won't argue with anyone that this film isn't as good as any of the "Star Wars" films, and it can't hold a candle to "Lord Of The Rings," but it is still a good film in its own right. If you grew up during this time, and still remember flicks like "Willow" and "Excalibur," you're guaranteed to fall in love with this treasure of the 80's.
Highly recommended to the over twenty crowd who remember when this flick came out.
Movie Review: a fantasy adventure classic... well almost
Summary: 4 Stars
With great fx (long before the computer generated movies came), great cast, pretty leading lady, fabulous settings, impressive costumes, and a well made script - what then is the reason why this movie seemed to lack the spice to land it categorically along with the other monumental flicks? The answer -- Peter Yates. Although not a bad british director himself, KRULL just doesn't fit his forte. Thus, it is the same case for the movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling's (now-classic) HARRY POTTER & THE SORCERER"S STONE, Chris Columbus may have spawned a good game in his stride with Home ALone, but is not the appropriate director to do the very-Britishy folkloric atmosphere of the said flick (he being American (it would've been rather done by Terry Gilliam most fittingly of the Monthy Python siries)) as i've presumed then. Thus, TIME magazine (10/December/2001) appropriately puts it in its review: "This movie about You-Know-Who is missing a sprinkle of you-know-what: what one dared to expect in a wizard's tale. This is a magic act performed by a muggle" :-DHenceforth, KRULL on the other hand would be a very Good item to sit in with other fantasy flicks such as the George Lucas produced WILLOW; DRAGONSLAYER; The Rankin/Bass animation features FLIGHT OF DRAGONS and adaptations of Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS; the medieval classic EXCALIBUR; SWORD OF THE VALIANT (starring Sean Connery (the bloody best actor to portray James Bond i should say) as the Green Knight (his movie FIRST KNIGHT is an Arthurian movie that goes so pale in comparison with the movie EXCALIBUR may i say so (sorry for the quite too many parenthesiseses(sic))); LABYRINTH (starring David Bowie and the ever lovable Jennifer Connely), along with the other Jim Henson produced movie THE DARK CRYSTAL; THE PIED PIPER OF HAMILYN (starring Donovan in the title role); HAWK THE SLAYER (w/ Jack Palance as the villain); HIGHLANDER (w/c's such among those flix that should've not have made a sequel (also co-stars Connery)); the first BEASTMASTER film; and the quite mediocre fantasy movie titled LEGEND, which stars ex-Mr. Nicole Kidman - Tom Cruise, with an equally quite pale theme from me favourite band YES.
The movie DUNGEONS & DRAGONS however is a disappointment of epical proportions though.
Back in Krull to comment further about it... well, do yourself a favour and watch the movie rather, than read this so-called review of mine.