This next film has it all.
I thought that “Clash of the Titans” was awesome…I watched “Krull” and it was a smorgasbord of nerdy-geekdom…aka = awesome sauce.
It features a prince and princess whose marriage will be an alliance to save the known world, aliens, a prophet, a shiftchanger, a blind seer, and that’s just in the first 20 minutes. There is also a gang of wild bandits that aid the prince on his quest to save his love and world, giant spiders, quicksand, horses that run so fast they start the ground on fire and jump canyons, a cyclops (a BADASS CYCLOPS), and oh did I mention an ancient weapon that will help them destroy THE BEAST? It also features a very young energetic Liam Neeson in his first role I believe.
I was able to see this feature at the theater and I loved every minute of it. The action never stopped. From the touchdown of the Alien Fortress to the devastation of it’s remains, the movie was an action packed sword and sorcery full of amazing set pieces.
Looking at it again, there are a few scenes that no longer hold up. The giant spider I mentioned and the showdown with THE BEAST are two scenes that immediately come to mind. Did they work in 83? Absolutely, but we continue to become jaded the older we get and the better that special effects are.
Do I still love this movie? Yes. I was captivated by the story, the visuals, and the action at a very young age and a part of me always remembers that first viewing on the big screen every time I re-watch it.
It is very rare to be able to mix science fiction and fantasy elements and sell it as a product (there are no aliens in “The Lord of the Rings”). I feel that this film delivered that and I have yet to see another film duplicate those elements as well as this one has.
My favorite thing about the film is the score by James Horner. Writing about it is going to be difficult to describe, but let me list a few of his other famous scores to give perspective:
“Cocoon”
“Aliens” (which you have heard on every action movie trailer ever cut)
“Willow”
“Glory”
“Titanic”
All of those films have some pretty amazing and memorable scores. I would put the score that he composed for “Krull” against the likes of any of those I mentioned. To me it matches the theme, the action, and the emotion seamlessly and it is a big reason why I feel it is so easy to get lost in all of the set pieces that this film has to offer.
Plus, Neeson does horse stunts. How can you look away?
For anyone that is a fan of this genre, I would recommend you give it a shot. Again, if you’re a person that lets old special effects ruin a movie, you won’t appreciate this film, but if you have the ability to accept things for their creation in film history, you might give this one a try. I watch it at least every other year when I go to visit my mom.
She’s a sucker for nostalgia too.
I had to get it somewhere, right?
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Clintington on Film 