‘Krull’
Columbia, 1983

starring: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones and Alun Armstrong
directed by: Peter Yates

the plot: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… The Beast and his army of Slayers land on the planet Krull and begin a reign of bloody terror. In order to protect themselves, the two largest kingdoms on the planet join together with the marriage of Prince Colwyn (Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Anthony). But just as the two marry, the Slayers attack, killing Colwyn’s army and spiriting away Lyssa to the Beast’s Black Fortress. Defeated and wounded, Colwyn is aided by the wise Ynyr (Jones), who helps Colwyn discover the mystical five-bladed sword that will help defeat the Beast. As the two men journey across Krull, they encounter a hapless wizard, a friendly cyclops and a band of thieves led by Torquil (Armstrong). Colwyn rallies those he meets into joining his ragtag army, and they ride together to the Black Fortress to rescue Lyssa and defeat the Beast once and for all.

why it’s good: “Krull” is the essential distillation of almost every sci-fi and fantasy movie to make it out of the 1980s. Screenwriter Stanford Sherman (who would later go on to write “The Ice Pirates,” another ’80s sci-fi cheese-fest) cribbed heavily from “Star Wars,” “Excalibur,” the works of Tolkien and just about everything else in making “Krull.” But it’s the “Star Wars” influence that’s the most apparent—there’s a quest to rescue a young princess from a imposing fortress, evil soldiers decked out in white and black uniforms, a sagacious old wizard who helps the young hero, etc. It’s pretty derivative, but “Krull” is a lot of fun nonetheless. Marshall isn’t very charismatic (though he does closely resemble Cary Elwes in “The Princess Bride”), but he’s a decent hero, and director Peter Yates keeps the action moving along at a brisk pace. One of the most notable things about “Krull” is Liam Neeson’s small role as one of Torquil’s thieves. Neeson already had the fantasy schtick down—he starred as Gawain in “Excalibur” two years earlier. The rest of the cast, however, has not faired as well as Neeson.  

why you should own it: Columbia’s DVD has a enough extras to satisfy even the most die-hard “Krull” fans, including commentary by Yates, Marshall and Anthony, a making-of featurette narrated by Tom Bosley, and a video-comic book adaptation courtesy of Marvel Comics