Leofwine_draca This is a mindless adaptation of the popular Robert E. Howard stories, made in the same vein as and to appeal to the same fans of HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, a long-running '90s TV series which saw Kevin Sorbo as the muscle-bound hero, fighting off bad guys with plenty of humour and a distinct lack of edge. Although Sorbo actually kills people in this film, it's nevertheless a bloodless affair, packed with cheesy special effects, lots of light action, and an incredibly annoying wah-wah guitar playing over the soundtrack that destroys any mock medieval mood they might have been aiming for straight away.The low budget is evident from the absolutely cheesy effects they use, from dodgy mutant makeup to a fiery demon at the climax, which I actually quite liked in terms of its design. Elsewhere there are some funny looking backgrounds but for the most part this is just a typical beat-em-up as Sorbo fights off soldiers, bad guys plot together, and not a great deal happens in terms of drama or wit. Let's just say that this bears absolutely no relation to the Howard stories that it originated from: in those Kull was a barbaric, vicious hero who had no trouble lopping off heads and limbs, and as an adaptation this is an absolute travesty. As a piece of late '90s fantasy fluff – and we have to remember that the genre didn't exist outside of television during this decade – it's mildly passable in places.I've always liked Sorbo as a lead; he has an amiable, friendly aura about him and the fact that he doesn't take himself too seriously counts for a lot. A lot of these films and productions trade on that good humour for effect. Mention has to be made of Tahitian-born love interest Karina Lombard, who is absolutely gorgeous in this film and a definite highlight, although ironically the better-known actress in this, Tia Carrere, is absolutely awful. She plays a red-haired witch who looks extremely puffy and pasty for the entire production and there's no sense of menace, evil or really anything from her: she's just a bad actress overacting in the part.Secondary villain duties go to bad-guy-for-hire Thomas Ian Griffith (VAMPIRES), who had a short career as an action hero in the early '90s. I quite like Griffith in a low-rent way so not much to say about him. Interesting that they rounded out the cast with the likes of Sven-Ole Thorsen (Arnie's frequent double), Brit musician Ed Tudor-Pole and wispy Scots actor Douglas Henshall (PRIMEVAL). Anyway, give this one a miss unless you're a die-hard Sorbo fan as it has no connection with the fantasy genre as we know it.

Python Hyena Kull the Conqueror (1997): Dir: John Nicolella / Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Tia Carrere, Litefoot, Thomas Ian Griffith, Roy Brocksmith: Pathetic fantasy about overcoming trials, although viewers may find the trial of sitting through this embarrassing film difficult to overcome. Kull is destined to become King. His enemies raise a demon Queen from her tomb and Kull chooses her as Queen but that night he ends up in chains. He frees himself and sets out seeking destruction of his enemies. While production is fine the story is lame. Director John Nicolella is no road map either. Kull instructs people to serve any God they wish. Kull sounds like the type of warrior who would bow down to a toilet if he had to crap bad enough. Kevin Sorbo must be proud to play a character this dumb. Kull is basically a rags to riches character who falls for his foe like a naïve child coaxed into a stranger's car. Tia Carrere puts in an effort as the demon Queen who proves to be a worthy opponent to our knuckle headed hero. Litefoot was much more interesting in The Indian in the Cupboard but here he is Kull's sidekick and little else. Thomas Ian Griffith is also featured among the cast. Apparently this was suppose to be Conan the Conqueror until Arnold Schwarzenegger read the script and realized that it would conquer his career. Pointless mayhem that showcases senseless violence and a complete lack of intelligence. Score: 2 ½ / 10

Ky-D On the scale of sword and sorcery flicks, this ranks below 'Conan The Barbarian', above the dreary 'Red Sonja', about on par with 'Conan The Destroyer'; which is to say that it's an energetic fantasy film that doesn't take itself seriously and can be a lot of fun if you let it be.Kull of Atlantis seeks to join the army of Velusia, but instead, through an unexpected turn of events, he finds himself proclaimed king of the empire instead. Holding onto his new throne will be much harder than taking it, as the blood heirs to the empire make a deal with a wizard to revive a 3000 year-old demon who seeks to kill King Kull and claim the empire for herself.'Kull the Conqueror' originally started out as 'Conan the Conqueror', but after Arnold refused to reprise the role, the script was changed to accommodate Howard's other barbarian hero, Kull. As such, much of the story is actually taken from the Conan stories ('The Hour of the Dragon' in particular). Interestingly, the first Conan movie took most of it's story material from the Kull tales. A little bit of irony for you.As for the film itself, it does enough things right to entertain; Sorbo fits Kull role perfectly (actually truer to the source character than Arnold ever was), Griffith is an effectively grim villain and Tia Carrere hams it up nicely as the evil Akiavasia. The locations and sets have a wonderfully fantasy feel to them and the assorted fight scenes are well choreographed and fast paced. Given their age, the FX and make are good without ever looking terribly real. One thing I found very enjoyable in the film was the liberal dose of humor; not lame one-liners or goofy antics, but some solid humor that compliments the scenes rather than ruining them.The biggest problem the movie has is the damn PG-13 rating; it keeps the movie from really delving into adult fantasy the way you want it too. Both 'Red Sonja' and 'Conan the Destroyer' suffered the same problem. Another issue is the generic butt-rock music that accompanies the fight scenes; the music for the rest of the film is epic and fits the period nature of the film, but the lame guitar riffs that get churned out during every fight is just annoying. Also, many of the supporting actors just aren't any damn good at acting and tend to injure many of the scenes. Lastly, the script is a little lean for an epic adventure film, clocking in at just 90 minutes, almost no time is spent getting to know the characters any better than is necessary to drive the plot.All told, this is a fun, fast, fantasy film meant to be enjoyed rather than analyzed. It makes a decent entry in the Howard film canon (the best way to watch it is part 4 of a Howard marathon; Conan 1 & 2, Red Sonja, Kull). The film made no money in theaters, which is too bad, as we aren't likely to see any more of these any time soon.Energetic, humorous, and full of action (though not without some issues), a solid sword and sorcery flick.7/10

Dave from Ottawa First the good news. This picture has production design worthy of Conan creator Robert E. Howard's legacy. Everything else is bad news. The script is allegedly a many version hand-me-down re-working of the never made third Conan movie, the film in which Conan would finally win the throne of Aquilonia. Instead we get Howard's backup hero (Kull) who takes the throne at the beginning of the film in an un-stirring, non-epic little battle and then loses it quickly to Witch Demon Akivasha (played to the hilt by Tia Carrere who obviously had rare fun as a bad girl). Kull then kills an hour on a very routine quest-to-find-his-right-to-rule and finally returns for the classic Howard showdown between good brawn and evil sorcery. The main problem is Kevin Sorbo, who got so good at playing Hercules in self-spoofing post-modern fashion that he simply doesn't resonate with the necessary authentic bronze age thuggishness of a Howard hero. Here was a chance to play a variation on his usual screen self and he punted it. Too bad. The set decorators captured the proper essence of Robert Howard...