I'll make no secret of it, I've been rooting for this film for a while. I like the first Conan, the sequel was pretty horrible. Aside from the Princess. She was MAJOR hotness! Having read a lot of Conan though, including the original stories and the more recent Dark Horse comics, I don't think that John Milius got it right.

This isn't a remake and I think that Jason Momoa embodies the character of Conan far better than Arnie did. It is, however, an origin story and it does, sadly, straddle the same material as the 1982 film. It's the lack of originality that, I feel, works against the film more than anything. The script couldn't be any more generic if it tried.

That said, as a pulpy piece of action/adventure goodness, I think it succeeds. As I said, Momoa embodies the character well but where he really sells it is in making swordplay look awesome. He nails the fight scenes, giving Conan great versatility when it comes to a scrap, and there are a lot of them. That's one of the reasons I found this so much fun to watch. It moves at such a pace that I found it impossible to get bored. Most of the dialogue is either foreboding an action scene or during an action scene.

The action really is great though. Shot well, nice choreography and plenty of high impact violence. This is full blooded stuff.

Momoa is supported well. Stephen Lang is effortlessly great as the villain, Khalar Zym, and Rose McGowen seems to be having fun as his freaky, witch daughter, Marique. Neither gets that much screen time though and their creepy relationship could have been better explored. Ron Perlman is... well... Ron Perlman. Not much to work with, but he works it like a pro.

The weakest link here is Rachel Nichols as Tamara. She's integral to Zym's evil scheme but her burgeoning love of Conan feels forced and one sided. Conan nails her (of course, she's a babe), but doesn't seem to care that much for the most part. Which sort of made me chuckle. Don't know if it was supposed to.

The first 15-20 minutes show Conan in his mid teens, and here he's played by Leo Howard. Screw Momoa having to fill Arnie's shoes, Momoa has to fill this kids shoes too. He's quality in this with two stand out action scenes to boot. Same kid played young Snake Eyes in 2009's GI Joe.

If there's one other thing I didn't like about this film it was the random globe trotting. By the end, I sort of stopped caring where things were occurring because I never got a sense that any real distance was being travelled. Even though it was. I felt the same disconnection in the The Mummy Returns, if that's any indication of what I'm talking about.

All told, I think this is a lean, satisfying action flick. I'd love to see a sequel that riffs off the source material more, bringing in some established characters. What's here really worked for me and... I'm probably damning this with faint praise in saying it is, hands down, the best thing Macus Nispel has ever made. I feel like he really got behind this

It was ok. Not nearly as good as I expected. Original blows it out the water still. Wait for video, not worth going to the movies to see. Plus the video is very hard to see during the night scenes. Audio isn't great either. Conan was still sexy though!

Let me say flat out that I was not impressed by this one on any level nor was I even entertained enough to stay awake to watch it to the end. I managed to make it through after a second attempt but it was only for the sake of writing an educated and genuine review.

First and foremost the acting was horrid considering the budget of the film but worse were the spfx as there was absolutely NO excuse for such cheap, unbelievable crap!
I enjoyed the origional Conan for a variety of different reasons, it was never a favorite of mine but I always appreciated its ability to at the very least entertain me with a laugh now and then. But this movie was just ridiculous in every way and I wasn't even all that thrilled with the direction they took the plot.

Personally I was not entertained in the slightest by this movie and I think the larger budget and blockbuster factor actually hurt it as the end result in no way lived up to the productions cost. Just Sad

Conan the Barbarian:

I want to start off by saying, as far as action films go this was pretty good, but compared to the original Conan I have some big complaints.

This could of been a MUCH better film. The beginning was EPIC, when he was a kid. Everything was very dark and brutal.

But then at the end of that arc they introduce Stephen Lang from Avatar/Terra Nova as the main villian, and things begin to go downhill.

Ol' Steve's a decent actor, however I think he was severly miscast here. I can see Steve as being the Commander of a bunch of Marines. However, can anyone really see him and his crazy daughter leading a horde of bloodthirsty sword weilding men? The smallest, skinniest guy in the room should not the be the main villian in a Conan flick.

I would of much prefered to see Ron Perlman, who starred as Conan's father, as the main villain. I think he could of portayed the role perfectly. He is exactly the body type, and type of guy I could see leading a medevil horde. No reason they needed a big name as Conan's father.


My other big problem was with Jason Mamoa who starred as Conan. (Also as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones) Mamoa should of acted exactly like he did in Game of Thrones. He was solemn, not saying much, and any laughter or smiles seemed forced. That was exactly like Arnold.

So really I only had the two big complaints. Big complaints that could of been very easily avoided, and it would of made for another classic film.

Overall, a nice movie with some great sword fighting.Was expecting a B type flick, crediting mostly the cinematography of course but it did justify however a wide theatrical release. They made a splendid effort with decor and ambiance but sadly it will still live in the shadows of the old Conan movies. Somehow, this one tries to pick an own style for itself but ends up reminding the audience of the 80s version, especially with the sword fighting mannerism. Arnold's version seemed effortless with a string of a story to mount on with the worthy allies and the near on par foe to dispense the whole length of the movie with great conviction. This remake however seems to have a rushed story that does not seem to have some logicity of good chronological story telling. In a few words, the older version exploited many avenues to make to movie really a classic but this newer version seems to emphasize on gore and sword play, leaving the brilliance of acting performance as secondary consideration. Clearly demarked is that Conan is the superior character that even the actors portraying the baddies don't seem to be able to be on par with, credibly. Rose Mc Gowan reminds us from time to time why she is best left out of main stream Hollywood as her inability to be versatile as an actress and in lingo suffers flagrant flashes on film such as her crude inappropriate accent. Nicols brings the Beauty of a "dame in distress" one would expect in such a genre but nothing more to solidify her credentials. As for the rest, really a forgetful trial for the numerous foes and surrounding cast who appear and disappear as if nothing was. This could have been a superb movie but it turned out to be an average attempt at rebooting a classic that i am sure most viewers will dare not classify in the same league as its predecessors

I really enjoyed this movie. I remember the old one and they both are exciting and have a very healthy Conan as usual. There was a lot of action and it kept me curious to what would happen next. Conan was a interesting character from birth so it was worth waiting to see how he was going to be as an adult. I will watch this again it was worth the wait. Next time i will have my kids watch it with me we enjoy watching good movies together and talking about it.

A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan (Jason Momoa) realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.