KULL THE CONQUEROR 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
2 :-( :-( for a barbarian in need of a good laugh at itself
Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Tia Carrere, Litefoot, Karina Lombard, Thomas Ian Griffith, Harvey Fierstein, Joe Shaw, Roy Brocksmith Director: John Nicolella Screenplay: Charles Edward Pogue "based on the worlds and characters of Robert E. Howard"
The worst thing that Kevin Sorbo could have done was to start taking himself seriously. I believe what makes ‘Hercules' the syndicate series a success is the fact that it constantly pokes fun at itself and somehow manages to kick itself in the head with slapstick humour and giddy, kiddy fun. This sudden swing from action comedy (Hercules) to action drama (Kull) comes as sudden and silly as a spaghetti meatball trying to imitate a poached pheasant. Somehow that savoury chunk of meat with tomato gravy doesn't quite live up to that small dried bird in fancy dressing.
Sorry Kevin, I don't buy it. ‘Kull' will forever be compared to that awful masterpiece ‘Conan', and it doesn't compare well. ‘Conan' may have been one of the worst films made, but it is still a brilliantly bad film. It had a young Arnold Shwarzenneger with heavy accent, coated with sweat, humping females and hacking monsters – everything a barbarian should and does do well. One thing the two films do have in common is bare flesh and humping. Sorbo performs adequately in both departments, but this really isn't his forte. I believe Sorbo's strength is the subtle comic talent evident in ‘Hercules', which should have been utilised to his advantage in this film but is sadly swept under the rug. Also greatly missed are the wonderful sidekick characters that make ‘Hercules' a bottle of laughter. Everyone is so serious in ‘Kull' and nobody significant dies till late in the film.
The main problem with films of this genre is that it gets awful lonesome when the world of ‘Kull' is sadly under populated. There needs to be more people around if you want to make it worth saving. I mean it really defeats the purpose if ‘Kull' was flexing his muscles for a couple of rocks and withered tree (I'm grossly exaggerating, but it's still a valid point). It's as if the director hasn't been able to get enough extras to fill the empty streets and barren landscape in time for the shoot. My suggestion is to use plenty of mannequins in the background. I'm sure nobody would notice anyway. After all this is not a film aimed at academy award nominated performances. So overall the experience of ‘Kull' was sadly a grand mistake of barbaric proportions. This miscalculated move by Kevin Sorbo should not damaged his popularity, but next time he starts pumping iron, I would like to see him in that familiar loin cloth of cheery ‘Hercules'.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Tia Carrere, Litefoot, Karina Lombard, Thomas Ian
Griffith, Harvey Fierstein, Joe Shaw, Roy Brocksmith Director: John Nicolella
Screenplay: Charles Edward Pogue "based on the worlds and characters of
Robert E. Howard"
The worst thing that Kevin Sorbo could have done was to start taking himself seriously. I believe what makes ‘Hercules' the syndicate series a success is the fact that it constantly pokes fun at itself and somehow manages to kick itself in the head with slapstick humour and giddy, kiddy fun. This sudden swing from action comedy (Hercules) to action drama (Kull) comes as sudden and silly as a spaghetti meatball trying to imitate a poached pheasant. Somehow that savoury chunk of meat with tomato gravy doesn't quite live up to that small dried bird in fancy dressing.
Sorry Kevin, I don't buy it. ‘Kull' will forever be compared to that awful masterpiece ‘Conan', and it doesn't compare well. ‘Conan' may have been one of the worst films made, but it is still a brilliantly bad film. It had a young Arnold Shwarzenneger with heavy accent, coated with sweat, humping females and hacking monsters – everything a barbarian should and does do well. One thing the two films do have in common is bare flesh and humping. Sorbo performs adequately in both departments, but this really isn't his forte. I believe Sorbo's strength is the subtle comic talent evident in ‘Hercules', which should have been utilised to his advantage in this film but is sadly swept under the rug. Also greatly missed are the wonderful sidekick characters that make ‘Hercules' a bottle of laughter. Everyone is so serious in ‘Kull' and nobody significant dies till late in the film.
The main problem with films of this genre is that it gets awful lonesome
when the world of ‘Kull' is sadly under populated. There needs to be more
people around if you want to make it worth saving. I mean it really defeats
the purpose if ‘Kull' was flexing his muscles for a couple of rocks and
withered tree (I'm grossly exaggerating, but it's still a valid point).
It's as if the director hasn't been able to get enough extras to fill the
empty streets and barren landscape in time for the shoot. My suggestion
is to use plenty of mannequins in the background. I'm sure nobody would
notice anyway. After all this is not a film aimed at academy award nominated
performances. So overall the experience of ‘Kull' was sadly a grand mistake
of barbaric proportions. This miscalculated move by Kevin Sorbo should
not damaged his popularity, but next time he starts pumping iron, I would
like to see him in that familiar loin cloth of cheery ‘Hercules'.
Timothy Voon
e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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