release year: 1997
genre: fantasy
viewing setting: theater, 8/30/97 (obnoxious handcuff-clicking boy sitting close behind us)
what I expected: I wasn't sure
what I got: a light, humor-laden version of Conan
synopsis: Barbarian warrior Kull takes the throne of Valusia, but has trouble holding it, both because of nobles who despise him and a 3000-year-old sorceress.
impressions: It was half-serious and half-silly. I imagine it had to be PG-13 (and not R) to draw in more kids and teenage fans of Hercules et al. The action sequences were good, the stuff in-between good at times. I'll probably want to see it again sometime. I'm an avid reader of Robert E. Howard's work, and his Kull isn't quite the Kull in this movie adaptation. Still, Hollywood tends to twist things so that they fit a certain mold. It could have been worse...a lot worse.
acting: Kevin Sorbo does that thing he does so well - just like in Hercules. Thomas Ian Griffith is superb as the pseudo-evil general. Tia Carrere is the sorceress, and she's both hot and nasty.
quote: "My blood is as red as any man's!"
final word: Conan lite. Though not a total blockbuster, it's a worthy member of the genre.
rating: B-