Kull the Conqueror (1997)

26% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
34% of users liked it
(9,141 ratings)

Inspired by the characters of Robert E. Howard (whose best-known creation was Conan The Barbarian), this epic tale of swords and sorcery stars Kevin Sorbo as Kull, a barbarian warrior who kills the King of Valusia in the midst of a battle; with his last breath, the monarch hands Kull his crown and… More Inspired by the characters of Robert E. Howard (whose best-known creation was Conan The Barbarian), this epic tale of swords and sorcery stars Kevin Sorbo as Kull, a barbarian warrior who kills the King of Valusia in the midst of a battle; with his last breath, the monarch hands Kull his crown and names him as his successor. Kull soon learns that possessing great power brings you great enemies, as Taligaro (Thomas Ian Griffith), leader of Valusia's Royal Guard, plots to murder Kull and take his place on the throne. Meanwhile, Kull's love for the comely slave Zareta (Karina Lombard) is tested when his head is turned by the exotic Akivasha (Tia Carrere), though Kull doesn't know at first that the leather-clad temptress is actually a 3,000-year-old demon given human form by a sorceress. Between the treachery of Taligaro and Akivasha, Kull finds his life and leadership threatened at every turn, and he must count on the help of his friends Zareta, holy man Ascalante (Litefoot), and pirate Juba (Harvey Fierstein) if he is to survive as Valusia's leader and put an end to slavery and the subjugation of women. Kull the Conqueror was, in its first drafts, planned as the third film in the Conan the Barbarian series, and it marked the first starring film role for Kevin Sorbo, who rose to fame on the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: John Nicolella
Written By: Charles Edward Pogue
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Aug 29, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Feb 24, 1998
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Entertaining and fun for its genre.
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
not nearly as painful to sit through as expected ... there's enough here to kill 90 minutes without the trade-off of losing too many brain cells
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
Yikes. Cribbed dialogue from The Empire Strikes Back is this film's only attempt at quality, and even that falls flat.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cherry D

'Kull reigns. Kull rules. Kull rocks.' Kull sucks. Kull can't act. Kull prances around like a magnificent poof, is a lot more fitting. This can be summed up in one word, fubar, actually, this may sully the good name of fubar. Read… More
'Kull reigns. Kull rules. Kull rocks.' Kull sucks. Kull can't act. Kull prances around like a magnificent poof, is a lot more fitting. This can be summed up in one word, fubar, actually, this may sully the good name of fubar. Read the tagline alone and you know you're in trouble, look at it! Why do the head honchos even contemplate allowing films like this, and i use that term loosely, to be put into production. We must ask ourselves, whyyy?!? Although, if you watch this blootered you may just have a crackin' good time. Kull is not a Conan sequel, was intended to be, but ultimately isn't, so let us stop thinking this. That being said, this makes Conan and films like Red Sonja look like masterpieces, believe me when i tell you, 5 minutes in you will be praying for Brigitte Nielsen in her skimpy little number. Kull is a doppelganger of Hercules, Sorbo is typecast, just look at him even now in the atrocious 'Meet the Spartans', don't fight it man, don't fight it. But, lets face it, his acting skills won't be gaining him access to the Oscars any time soon. This is no exception, the acting is barely par, I would even go further and say it's below, you don't care about the characters...ever, i'm sorry Tia but you were wasted, I didn't buy your evilness and your hair distracted me. The film and everyone/thing in it is just one big fat anachronism, yes, even more than Hercules, which i admit was casual entertainment when i was 7, we're way back in God knows what year BC and he's speaking with a modern day American accent, which coincidentally is the same voice he uses in every role, monotonous much? Every time a character opens their mouths the film dooms itself, every line is a cliché, pure cheddar, and not in a good way. I've seen people commenting on how Sorbo has 'great comedic timing' and it 'doesn't take itself too seriously', this humour is devoid of intention!! You feel bad for laughing, it's few funny attempts fail, the serious moments are hilarious and at times cringe worthy, that ain't good. There are comments on how great the special effects are, seriously? were we watching the same thing, they're an improvement on the Hercules show i'll give you that but still certainly nothing to joygasm over. Also, the choreographed fight scenes are clumsy and unsatisfying, he manages to ponce around 'beating up' the bad guys without spilling one drop of blood and occasionally headbanging to the soundtrack, he is a talented fellow that Kull. Oh I have to get this in too, he is a barbarian...that is courteous towards women LOL no! Finally we come to the music, which by the way is hysterical, who I ask you, who sets a cheese fest fantasy/sorcery movie to a heavy metal soundtrack, i'll tell ya, someone who's lost their bloody marbles that's who. It's like going to see Sabbath or Slayer or whatever and been treated to the calming sounds of the ocean relaxation tape, oh lord. If you have made it this far and are actually wondering, hey, what's the story about, I'll do my best to describe it to you. Ok, here it goes, evil sorceress lady wants to take over the world, Kull stops her. Original? Nothing new, tried tested done to death, fail!! I don't think even avid sword and sorcery fans will find this appealing and I'm sure a few blame this and films of it's kind for the destruction of the genre, all i can say is, God bless Lord of the Rings, Amen. My original intention wasn't to slate this into the next millennium, but it was out there and just begging for it. Giving it half a star as it made me chuckle.
Dean M

This moronic, sanitised version of Conan author Robert E. Howard's pulp fiction superhero of the 1930s is average, also features an irritating heavy-metal rock score.
Steven V

Worst movie. Don't expect anything too spectactular. The heavy metal score for this is atrocious. The plot is retarded. Just the ending is so hilarious.
Chad R

HaHA- he had that big axe - poor acting - Hot Tia!