Krull was released in 1983 and stars Ken Marshall, Freddie Jones, Lysette Anthony and as mentioned before Liam Neeson! The setting is the world of Krull, which pretty much looks like your average fantasy scene with open fields, castles, deserts, arctic mountains and a giant spider web! Anyway, two kingdoms plan to unite by the marriage of Prince Colwyn (Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Anthony) who actually love each other! That is a first for an arranged marriage.
Before this marriage occurred, a giant fortress landed on the planet. This black fortress belongs to the beast and his slayers, which basically look like a bunch of Mysterios from Spider-man. These slayers interrupt the wedding, which involved exchanging fire (I know sounds interesting right? You just have to watch it), take the princess, and kill everyone except for Colwyn.
From that point on, Colwyn seeks council from Ynyr (Jones), and old wiseman who tells him to find the glaive (a boomerang with blades) to defeat the beast. I won't go into too much detail after this, but from this point on Colwyn finds the glaive, meets a crazed magician, runs into criminals who agree to travel with him and Ynyr, , and meets an old seer and a cyclops. Together, they try to find ways to reach the black fortress, which changes its position everyday, to rescue the princess.
LIKES
- This film has a very interesting plot, On the DVD there is a review from Variety, which states "Excalibur meets Star Wars. Lavishly mounted" (Variety), and I completely agree with that statement because it basically is. Although the only galactic part of the film is in the first minute, it is still a galactic fantasy. I also like the challenge of the black fortress because it changes positions, which is intriguing, and really makes you wonder how it can be reached.
- Seeing a cyclops portrayed as a good guy is different, and great. It kind of puts out that belief that people fear what they don't understand, but once you understand it, it is not scary anymore. I also liked the story of how this particular cyclops became a cyclops, as opposed to Greek mythology.
- The journey itself is very substantial. With every fantasy film that I watch, I always examine the journey. The locations are varied, and based on the fact that you don't really know where they are going because the black fortress changes positions, it makes the journey less predicable.
- The glaive is a cool weapon. and is pretty much the logo for the film. It is easily recognizable, and breaks away from the traditional sword.
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| Colwyn holding the legendary glaive! |
- The widow of the web is a very interesting character. I know I did not talk much about her, but she basically reveals the key to finding the black fortress to Ynyr in the film, and she lives in center of a giant spider web. Her character is dynamic because she was punished in a terrible way. She lives in web of her own guilt.
- Although the film has an evil villain, the film is basically a feel good fantasy. Granted there are some casualties, but I felt really good watching this film from start to finish. It might be the score, but I think it is the characters, and the different location they encounter on the way. It is just very adventurous, and I respect that.
- Colwyn is a cool guy, don't get me wrong, but he seems very arrogant throughout the film. He has a egotistical demeanor, and you can tell he has let royalty go to his head. He believes in the power of love, but he also believes in the power to whine and complain when Ynyr tries to help him. He is a great hero, but a bad character if that makes sense.
- The beast did not seem very scary to me. Maybe it was because I could barely see him! Seriously, when Colwyn and the beast square off, they are literally 200 feet apart from each other. I realize that the beast is very big, but I wish there was a closer confrontation. It seemed more like a war, than a battle between them, and I didn't really like that. Plus, it is very obvious to me that the beast is just a green screen.
- The purpose of the glaive is very confusing to me Ynyr tells Colwyn to use it when he needs it, and Colwyn asks him when he will know, and Ynyr tells him you will know. Well, besides the battle with the beast, there were a dozen opportunities where he could have used the glaive, and he didn't! Why? It is a boomerang with blades! It could take out a lot of enemies in one throw. Plus, the glaive does not even end up killing the beast! Remember that exchange of fire I told you about? Well, the fire ends up killing the beast.....WHAT?!! What was the point of the glaive? It just makes no sense!
- I wish the black fortress would transport to different worlds instead of different parts of Krull. I realize that the name of the film would have to be changed, but I just think it would be interesting, and it would the make journey much more enjoyable than it already is.
Even though I bashed it somewhat, Krull holds a very special place in my heart because I watched it as a kid, and I finally found it on DVD after all these years. It is very nostalgic to me, and there are a lot of good things about this film. It is a great fantasy film, and I recommend it for anyone interested in 80s fantasy movies!
RATING 8/10
That is all from me. This is movie maniac signing off! Until next time!
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