The original 1982 Conan the Barbarian is best known as the film as the film that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film career, though the character himself dates back to a series of stories written in the 1930s. I personally had my first experience with character in the 1992 animated series Conan the Adventurer, which was an after-school favourite of mine.
This remake of the 1982 film stars relative newcomer Jason Momoa, who has been best know for mostly TV work up to now, most recently as Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones. I guess like Schwarzenegger, this is make it or break it role of Momoa’s film career. That said, he is probably one of the best parts of the film. I also really liked Rose McGowan as the really evil sorceress Marique (despite having one of the worst hairdos ever). I probably would have preferred her as the lead villain, as opposed to Stephan Lang’s Khalar Zym.
Among the the things I didn’t like about the film, is that the story could have been better done and film could have really done without the extended prologue featuring Ron Perlman as Conan’s father. I was definitely the most bored during that section of the film, though I do admit that things picked up slightly, once the main action of the film kicked into gear.
I could best describe Conan the Barbarian as a mildly entertaining action-adventure film that I would forget about immediately after leaving the theatre. I thought that I would at least get some violent action out of the film, but like many modern action films, the action scenes are just a mess of cuts, with me having barely an idea what’s going on (I caught myself counting the cuts at one point – I quickly lost count).
I can’t compare this film to the original, since I have yet to see it. However, I can say that, when it is all said and done, the film isn’t all that bad. That said, it’s not of film that I would highly recommend. Also, I didn’t see the film in 3D, so I don’t know how good the effects are, but based on what I saw, I don’t think I missed much.
7/10