Baker John's Underrated Movie Review of the Month: KRULL

Although you might not believe it, us bakers at A&J King talk about bread only a small amount of the time, and much of that is discussing various mistakes we've been making and how to correct them. In order to highlight some of the other conversations we have around the table, I've enlisted Baker John to write a monthly column on one of our favorite subjects: Underrated movies. This is a topic, along with "If They Were Making a Movie About the Bakery, Who Would Play You" game and the "You've Never Heard of My Favorite Band" discussions, that find their way into daily conversation. What you're about to read is real. - Editor

*****

Hey Now!

This is Baker John, a local legend who is also legendarily local. Andy asked me to do some reviews on movies I feel are underrated as a feature for the newsletter. I told him I would agree to do this on 2 conditions: 1, that I could keep my day job; and 2, that I could use liberal profanity. He didn’t agree to the second condition, but I am a big softy, and will do this for him out of the kindness of my heart, sans F-Bomb.

Perhaps one of the most common reasons why a movie becomes underappreciated is when the movie is seen as derivative of another, better known work. For example, Krull, directed by Peter Yates (who is better known for the Bill Cosby/Harvey Keitel buddy movie Mother, Jugs, and Speed) is a movie steeped in epic archetypes. At its core, you have the classic “Young Hero must Embrace His Destiny to save a Kidnapped Princess from a World-Enslaving Monster from Outer Space with the help of Some Old Dude who Ends Up Dying, a Group of Assorted Malcontents, and a Fantastic Weapon Only He Can Wield” trope. Throw in a score by John Williams, and you can see where this is going.

If you were to dismiss this film as a Star Wars clone, you would be right.

You would also be a jerk who missed out on a pretty entertaining popcorn flick, and I would tell you that to your face if only this monitor weren’t in my way.

Look, some people insist on total originality in their entertainment consumables. They believe that there is only one good way of telling any story, and it was probably Bill Shakespeare who did it. These people are entitled to their opinion, no matter how wrong it is. And it is.

Wrong, I mean.

Other people just want to be entertained, and appreciate the spin which a new director, writer, or musician can place on an established work. They view the source material as the framework around which a new vision can be based. While it is true that this can result in some bad art, it is not always so. Just because The Magnificent Seven is a remake of Seven Samurai doesn’t mean that The Magnificent Seven sucks. Hell, it’s got Charles Bronson in it, and he could beat Toshiro Mifune in an Awesome Contest any day of the week. J.R.R. Tolkien looked to adapt the Norse Eddas into a story to tell his children, so he added in elves and dwarves to be vehicles for his linguistic experiments. We all know how badly THAT turned out…

Anyway, Krull is a wonderful flick with a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, some awesome set-piece battles, and a few neat ideas. I highly recommend giving it a shot. This is great for any movie night with the guys, and some women may like it as well. Look for appearances by Liam Neeson, Robbie Coltrane, and that guy who gets hit in the head with a ball and chain while sleeping in Braveheart.

Baker John Out!