Star Wars. Star Trek. Lord of the Rings. These are all films/genres that helped create this clichéd yet imaginative film called Krull. A child of the early 80s, Krull is a film that bases so much of its emphasis on special effects and world-creation that the story and characters fall clearly on the wayside. The acting and the story itself could not stand alone for this film, so the director countered it with a plethora of animation, green-screen, and well-designed sets. This is the greatest part of Krull. Do not go into this film expecting a powerful hero, well-liked sub-characters, or even a comedic tone (though director Peter Yates tries over and over again to use David Battley for this purpose), but instead revel in the power of the 1980s special effects. In a pre-"Industrial Light and Magic", pre-Lucas, pre-Jackson era, Krull stands alone as a visual masterpiece. I loved the world that Yates created. I could literally see the vast stories that could have been told about each character. I could see the different creatures and magic of the land. I could see the horror of this alien evil, but alas, I could not see the characters.
Acting classes were needed for everyone in this film. Even the illustrious Liam Neeson could be seen at times slipping in and out of character (though to find the true character would be a harder task). Ken Marshall does a horrid job as the new King of Krull attempting to show emotion as he saves the supposed love of his life. In nearly every scene Marshall counters the enemy with smirks and emotionless drive. You could tell from the beginning that Marshall was not Yates' first choice to lead his picture, but instead the option they had to fall back on. With a horrible actor leading this band of cheap delinquents, it is obvious that nobody else took this film seriously. Torquil tried to be rugged, but instead just felt useless. Ergo tried to play the comic card, but instead felt like a dated magician at a child's party. The rest fell flat on their faces as well. The use of voice dubbing for both Robbie Coltrane's role as well as Lysette Anthony was embarrassing. When you would watch the special features on the DVD, you just wanted to yell to the actors saying that their voices wouldn't make the final cut. Their voices on the final film just didn't match the bodies that produced them. It was completely off kilter, and a formidable mistake by Yates.
The lack of acting ability comes from not knowing the character that you are playing. If you develop your character strongly, then you become that character, and the acting comes naturally. In Krull, there was no character development, which added more to the acting hindrance. We needed to see more of the devastation by the Slayers and perhaps a bit of backstory on the leader of the Slayers. This would have lead to a very climactic ending, instead of the clichéd and rushed ending that we were handed. I wanted to know more about the characters, more about their histories and stories, but we didn't get them. I could have used a campfire scene where each talked about their lives on Krull. It would have given so much more depth to not only the characters, but also the story and the planet. While it was obvious that the special effects budget was high, some of that money could have been used to strengthen the characters, build their lives, and deliver them to audiences. Instead, I felt we received cheapened, nearly stolen, versions of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars packed into two hours.
The plus side to this film has to be the special effects. While it is obvious that the characters were not given any depth or unique values, the world of Krull did. The journeys that our team makes to several unique places on Krull made this film exciting. I didn't realize that Krull's mythology was going to develop so well. The scenes with the Seer, the Widow of the Web, and the location of the five-bladed boomerang kept me glued to the screen. I wanted to see where special effects department would take me next. While some seemed cheap, it was well imagined. Detail seemed to be a big point with the special effects. While it was overlooked with the characters, it doubled in size for the effects. The spider was obviously fake, but it was a "fun fake" meaning it kept you glued to the screen to see what would happen next. The special effects on this film reminded me of Ray Harryhausen's work, or at least a decent dedication to him. For the special effects alone, this film was worth watching once. If it wasn't for these saving effects, I do believe Krull would have long been forgotten by now.
Overall, I thought this was a mediocre science fiction film. If it hadn't been released in my youth, I do not believe I would have enjoyed it. The characters were annoying, the story was nothing spectacular (alas, you can see this "lone king bands together with hooligans to save his queen" story everywhere), but the special effects were outstanding. Again, this film was no Star Wars, but it did provide for two hours of eye candy fun. Both the amateur sci-fi watchers to the most experienced fanatics could enjoy Krull. I do not suggest continual viewings of this film, but to enjoy the special effects and the rich world of Krull, I say watch it once it will do you no harm!
Grade: *** out of *****
Acting classes were needed for everyone in this film. Even the illustrious Liam Neeson could be seen at times slipping in and out of character (though to find the true character would be a harder task). Ken Marshall does a horrid job as the new King of Krull attempting to show emotion as he saves the supposed love of his life. In nearly every scene Marshall counters the enemy with smirks and emotionless drive. You could tell from the beginning that Marshall was not Yates' first choice to lead his picture, but instead the option they had to fall back on. With a horrible actor leading this band of cheap delinquents, it is obvious that nobody else took this film seriously. Torquil tried to be rugged, but instead just felt useless. Ergo tried to play the comic card, but instead felt like a dated magician at a child's party. The rest fell flat on their faces as well. The use of voice dubbing for both Robbie Coltrane's role as well as Lysette Anthony was embarrassing. When you would watch the special features on the DVD, you just wanted to yell to the actors saying that their voices wouldn't make the final cut. Their voices on the final film just didn't match the bodies that produced them. It was completely off kilter, and a formidable mistake by Yates.
The lack of acting ability comes from not knowing the character that you are playing. If you develop your character strongly, then you become that character, and the acting comes naturally. In Krull, there was no character development, which added more to the acting hindrance. We needed to see more of the devastation by the Slayers and perhaps a bit of backstory on the leader of the Slayers. This would have lead to a very climactic ending, instead of the clichéd and rushed ending that we were handed. I wanted to know more about the characters, more about their histories and stories, but we didn't get them. I could have used a campfire scene where each talked about their lives on Krull. It would have given so much more depth to not only the characters, but also the story and the planet. While it was obvious that the special effects budget was high, some of that money could have been used to strengthen the characters, build their lives, and deliver them to audiences. Instead, I felt we received cheapened, nearly stolen, versions of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars packed into two hours.
The plus side to this film has to be the special effects. While it is obvious that the characters were not given any depth or unique values, the world of Krull did. The journeys that our team makes to several unique places on Krull made this film exciting. I didn't realize that Krull's mythology was going to develop so well. The scenes with the Seer, the Widow of the Web, and the location of the five-bladed boomerang kept me glued to the screen. I wanted to see where special effects department would take me next. While some seemed cheap, it was well imagined. Detail seemed to be a big point with the special effects. While it was overlooked with the characters, it doubled in size for the effects. The spider was obviously fake, but it was a "fun fake" meaning it kept you glued to the screen to see what would happen next. The special effects on this film reminded me of Ray Harryhausen's work, or at least a decent dedication to him. For the special effects alone, this film was worth watching once. If it wasn't for these saving effects, I do believe Krull would have long been forgotten by now.
Overall, I thought this was a mediocre science fiction film. If it hadn't been released in my youth, I do not believe I would have enjoyed it. The characters were annoying, the story was nothing spectacular (alas, you can see this "lone king bands together with hooligans to save his queen" story everywhere), but the special effects were outstanding. Again, this film was no Star Wars, but it did provide for two hours of eye candy fun. Both the amateur sci-fi watchers to the most experienced fanatics could enjoy Krull. I do not suggest continual viewings of this film, but to enjoy the special effects and the rich world of Krull, I say watch it once it will do you no harm!
Grade: *** out of *****