KULL THE CONQUEROR

Name: KULL THE CONQUEROR
Item: KULL THE CONQUEROR
Author: Review

"Lackluster Sword & Sorcery"

Family Content: -3 Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies.)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

Set in the mythical land of Valusia, KULL THE CONQUEROR is the story of a barbaric warrior who ascends to the throne and has to battle corrupt nobles and a wicked sorceress in order to retain his kingdom. Though Kull (Kevin Sorbo) says he has eyes only for the slave girl, Zareta, Kull is bewitched into marrying Akivasha (Tia Carrere), a 3,000-year-old sorceress who has been resurrected by Kull’s enemies to murder him on his wedding night. Narrowly escaping death, Kull flees the palace with Zareta and her brother, a Valkan priest. Together, they embark on a perilous journey to find the only weapon powerful enough to destroy Akivasha − the legendary Breath of Valka. Meanwhile, back at the palace, the evil queen plans to unleash the forces of hell to establish her dominion on earth.

KULL’s production values are mediocre. From costumes to cinematography, KULL THE CONQUEROR looks unappealing. The swordplay, and the stuntwork lack inspiration, and the performances are lackluster. Screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue, who wrote the underachieving screenplay for DRAGONHEART, has woven together plot elements from several of the KULL books to fashion a story without suspense and with petty character motivations. With questionable morals, mediocre production values and a thin storyline, KULL arrives in theaters with almost nothing to recommend it

Content:

(OOO, AB, L, VV, N, S, A, M) Occult worldview of medieval warrior king who battles evil including occult rituals, sorcery, a witch who turns into a hideous demon & idol worship; 2 profanities & 4 obscenities; moderate violence including sword fighting, man stabs woman, men pushed out of window & explodes into flames due to sorcery, man & woman fornicate wrapped in sheets; revealing bikini style clothing on women & chest bearing clothing on men; alcohol use; and miscellaneous immorality including horrific hellish images & woman vomits

More Detail:

In 1981, CONAN THE BARBARIAN brought bodybuilding champion Arnold Schwarzenegger to international prominence as a motion picture performer. What CONAN could not do was to single-handedly resurrect the sword and sorcery genre, which in bygone days had produced exciting films like THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, with the special effects wizardry of Ray Harryhausen. Other than a tepid sequel, CONAN THE DESTROYER, and THE SWORD AND THE SORCEROR, a lively low-budget imitation, 1980’s audiences ignored any further attempts to keep the genre alive.

Now, with the success of the syndicated television series HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS and XENA, WARRIOR PRINCESS, CONAN producer Raffaella De Laurentiis hopes to create box office magic again with KULL THE CONQUEROR, based on a lesser-known series of pulp novels by CONAN creator, Robert E. Howard. Starring TV’s Hercules, Kevin Sorbo, as the one-dimensional warrior king, KULL may sound the final death knell for the sword and sorcery genre on the big screen. With questionable morals, mediocre production values and a thin storyline, KULL arrives in theaters with almost nothing to recommend it

Set in the mythical land of Valusia, KULL THE CONQUEROR is the story of a barbaric warrior who, through an absurd twist of fate, ascends to the throne, immediately becoming a royal pain and a target for corrupt nobles who begin plotting his demise. Though he says he has eyes only for the slave girl, Zareta (Karina Lombard), Kull is bewitched into marrying Akivasha (Tia Carrere), a 3,000-year-old sorceress who has been resurrected by Kull’s enemies to murder him on his wedding night

Narrowly escaping death, Kull flees the palace with Zareta and her brother (Litefoot), a Valkan priest. Together, they embark on a perilous journey to find the only weapon powerful enough to destroy Akivasha − the legendary Breath of Valka. Meanwhile, back at the palace, the evil queen plans to unleash the forces of hell to establish her dominion on earth.

Watching KULL is a depressing experience. Valusia is an ugly kingdom in a constant state of turmoil caused by jealousy and intolerance. It is precisely this sorry state of affairs which is threatened by the evil Akivasha. Even after the forces of hell are defeated, Valusia is still a dingy, colorless land ruled by a barbarian whose might makes right. Where is the upside here?

KULL gives audiences the choice between hell and humanism, and, in some respects, hell may better than humanism. Akivasha doesn’t tax the commoners mercilessly, nor does she torture them. Valusia is no better off ruled by the evil Akivasha than by the barbarian KULL. Hollywood is not even pretending to aspire to heaven anymore.

KULL’s production values are mediocre as well. From costumes to cinematography, KULL THE CONQUEROR looks unappealing. The swordplay and the stuntwork lack inspiration, and the performances are lackluster. Screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue, who wrote the underachieving screenplay for DRAGONHEART, has woven together plot elements from several of the KULL books to fashion a story with no suspense and petty character motivations. In KULL, the height of humor is a running gag about the smell of camel urine. The best line of dialogue is lifted almost line by line from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

Referring to the non-graphic violence in KULL THE CONQUEROR, producer De Laurentiis has said, “I wanted to make an action movie that my children could see”. Appealing to Sorbo’s legions of young fans couldn’t hurt her box office grosses either. However, not only do the sex and demonic images makes this movie inappropriate for children, Christians and secular moviegoers alike should insist that their children’s entertainment meet a much higher standard of quality.