B
(out of 5)
The planet of Krull is under threat when evil aliens land and commit a mass decimation of its people. Left to defend his world is a King (Ken Marshall) whose beloved princess (Lysette Anthony) is kidnapped by the Beast that leads the evil ones, leaving Marshall to travel across his land with a variety of companions in tow on his quest to save his lady love and set all to right again. A strange combination of sword-and-sorcery fantasy and high-tech laser beam wizardry, this film could have been silly fun considering its appealing production design and very impressive visual effects. Unfortunately, Peter Yates’ direction is heavy-handed to the point of being downright dreary, and the cartoonish characters are all thoroughly idiotic. Marshall is bland in the lead, while Anthony provides little more interest as the breathless heroine (and it doesn’t help that producers overdubbed her British-accented voice with Lindsay Crouse‘s more relatable Yankness).
Columbia Pictures Corporation, Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance
Directed by Peter Yates
Screenplay by Stanford Sherman
Cinematography by Peter Suschitzky
Produced by Ron Silverman
Music by James Horner
Production Design by Stephen B. Grimes
Costume Design by Anthony Mendleson
Film Editing by Ray Lovejoy
Cast Tags: Alun Armstrong, Andy Bradford, Belinda Mayne, Bernard Archard, Bernard Bresslaw, Bill Weston, Bronco McLoughlin, Clare McIntyre, David Battley, Dicken Ashworth, Francesca Annis, Freddie Jones, Gerard Naprous, Graham McGrath, John Welsh, Ken Marshall, Liam Neeson, Lindsay Crouse, Lysette Anthony, Ray Lovejoy, Robbie Coltrane, Todd Carty, Tony Church
