It's easy to dismiss "Kull the Conqueror" as a "Conan the Barbarian" wannabe crossed with television's "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys." After all, "Kull" was conceived by pulp writer Robert E. Howard, who also created "Conan," and the movie stars Kevin Sorbo, whose day job is playing "Hercules" on TV.

And, indeed, "Kull the Conqueror" proves to be just another routine sword-and-sandals action yarn, of the kind that fell out of fashion some years ago. (Does anyone remember Arnold Schwarzenegger's two "Conan" movies or "Red Sonja" or "The Beastmaster" or myriad other staples of this genre in the 1980s?)

We can thank the unexpected syndicated TV success of "Hercules" and its spinoff "Xena: Warrior Princess" — but "Kull" isn't likely to kickstart a big-screen trend.

The story, such as it is, begins with commoner Kull (who apparently does not own a shirt) trying to join up with an army of warriors who are all noblemen. Naturally, he is rebuffed by their leader, Taligaro (Thomas Ian Griffith), evil heir-apparent to the throne.

But when Taligaro and his troops are called to the castle because the king has gone berserk and is assassinating members of the royal family, Kull tags along. And when he saves Taligaro's life and gets into a swordfight with the king, Kull unexpectedly inherits the crown.

Before you can say "Henry V," the warrior king is defending himself from forces within and without his newly obtained kingdom.

The primary plot devices have to do with an evil witch (Tia Carrere) being resurrected, then attempting to seduce Kull into joining her as she attempts to take over the kingdom (or is that the world?), along with Kull's true love for one of the women in his harem (Karina Lombard).

Though I confess to being ignorant of the source material, my suspicion is that Lombard's character is much more of a feminist here than in Howard's books, and that Sorbo's wisecracks — and 1990s colloquialisms — are also cinematic inventions. (And the "stunt casting" of Harvey Fierstein as a villain — with a sly in-joke about being gay — is more an amusing idea than a successful ploy.)

And how about that heavy-metal soundtrack? Nothing like the use of period instruments to evoke atmosphere.

Despite deliberate efforts by the filmmakers to go for that ever-popular PG-13 rating (which they achieved by stopping short of decapitating villains and by using discreet camera angles when Carrere and Lombard are nude), this is hardly kids stuff.

The violence and sex are extreme, and there are plenty of monstrous special effects on hand, though none are particularly thrilling.