Kull: The Conqueror

Unlike the "Conan" movies of the 1980's which were MEANT to be taken seriously at every turn and were UNINTENTIONALLY funny, "Kull" never attempts to be more than what it is: an action film with a healthy dose of humor, nice effects and nicely choreographed action sequences. This isn't "King Lear" and it isn't meant to be. Just sit back and have some fun.

I saw the movie on television yesterday evening. When I had looked into the tv magazine I saw that the movie is rather new (1997), but I had never heard of it, which means nothing good. Then I saw that Kevin Sorbo starred in it. I don't have a problem with him, but he's absolutely fixed to that "Hercules"-role, so I knew exactly what to expect. But it wasn't THAT bad. The plot was mediocre, but not ridiculous. The special effects weren't too good, but some looked nice. The scenery looked extremely fake from time to time, but there also were some nice backgrounds and such. It's not really a bad movie, I was not bored when I watched it. If you are a fan of such medieval settings and lower your expectations a bit it might be worth a watch. 5/10

The only thing "slick" about this film is the video box cover. The movie is strictly Grade B material, although there are some nice special-effects and color to it. The lead actor is probably what gives this movie such a lower-grade feel to it. Kevin Sorbo, who has not exactly become a household name among movie actors, shows why as he plays "Kull." He doesn't look and he doesn't sound like a man from the medieval ages. Only his acting is medieval! The stupid dialog didn't help him, either. The sorcery with stupid doses of political correctness made the whole thing ludicrous. The leading lady wasn't any better: a broody, unlikeable Karina Lombard. You'd be better off with the horrible Steve Reeves Hercules movies of the 1950s - similar sort of thing.

I thought that this movie was great. It has a lot of action in it which made me want to watch more. Kevin Sorbo is great in this movie and also Tia Carrere is. The only reason I give it a 9 is because some parts of the movie were hard for me to understand. But overall it is great.

I like Kevin Sorbo, so I watched the film. It wasn't mentally tasking and it never set out to be. The movie was designed to be campy and it said so. You heard the rock music in the background during the trailer, so why are people so disappointed with it? I still enjoyed it for its dry wit and simplicity. It was a nice flashback to those old Conan movies. I've heard that Kull is Conan's father, and I don't know much about this character from the Conan films, but I dug him. I found him charming. The Conan movies wasn't much in the way of smart either, but people still enjoy it. I liked the combination of modern themes and music with the extremely old school nature of the film. It was like a land before time or something. Watch it if you just wanna watch something and don't expect much.

KULL is not to be taken seriously, even though it is derived from a serious book by the author of the Conan stories, Robert Howard. Kevin "Hercules" Sorbo plays Kull, a warrior in search of a kingdom in a time long forgotten, in a breezy, off-handed manner -- and his refusal to take his character too seriously works in favor of this low-budget quickie. The ever-delectable Tia Carrere plays a witch who plans to take over the world, and she is absolutely delicious as a supernatural villainess. The fights are clumsily staged, the sets are from hunger, but the dialog is a lot of fun and everyone would appear to be having a good time. A rainy day pick. It certainly kicks Red Sonja's butt.

Ok ok, I know, you're not supposed to compare this movie to the Hercules series, but please, Sorbo's acting style is unchanged. Kull kills people in this movie and he's not a half-god, but that's where the differences end. This movie even has a Salmoneus-clone played (hilariously) by Harvey Fierstein. Watch it, enjoy it, but don't expect too much from it.