the audience applauded

Pretty Good

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

They didn't have to make this bout Conan. Could have done any other hero n it wouldn't have changed anything. Didn't seem anywhere close to Conan. Alot of boobs in this movie. Not bad. Some cool action scenes.

Despite a flat performance from Ron Perlman I loved the opening. Leo Howard stole the show, and laid a solid foundation for a great Conan. Jason Momoa was a great choice to follow Howard, too bad the screenwriting and direction failed to utilize him to his full potential. The cgi was poorly executed and overly relied upon instead of a solid story telling. This movie felt like it was made more as a marketing tool for the video game that followed and less as a darkly brutal sword and sorcery throwback.

Following the Arnold Schwartznegger rendition in the early 1980s, Conan the Barbarian has struck again on the silver screen, but not for an entertaining time. This updated rendition of the barbarian warrior succeeds boasted plenty of potential from its grittier update of the eponymous character. Unfortunately, this film lavishes its potential on a hopelessly unengaging story and direction that never quite lands. Directed by Marcus Nispel, the man behind two critically clobbered horror remakes 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'Friday the 13th', this sword-and-sorcery tale delivers a feast of viciously graphic violence and gore splatters that makes Zack Snyder's '300' look more tame, tightly embracing its hard R-rating. But one thing that Nispel proves is that you simply cannot score a compelling action piece just throw in one gruesome action scene after another after another without dedicating some time to construct the plot and characters. It is just grows numbing and unappealing after a while long before it reaches the end credits. Citing this movie as an abhorrent disaster may be saying a lot, but it is nowhere as fun, exciting, or even intriguing as it sets out to be. Set during the fictional Hyborian age, the film stars Jason Momoa as Conan, a barbarian warrior who sets out on a perilous journey to seek revenge against a ruthless warlord Khalar Zym (played by Stephen Lang) along with his tyrant army wiped out his village and ultimately murdered by father Corin (played by Ron Perlman). Joining him on his quest is free slave Tamara (played by Rachel Nichols) who helps him on his vendetta while fighting against a horde of hideous monsters and Zym's evil minions. Whether you are watch this in 3-D or in regular version, this historical epic more often than not feels like a chore to sit through. Although there is plenty of intense, graphic battle sequences to keeping moving, the film never rises above the level of a slipshod fantasy extravaganza with nothing to offer but an excess of visually compelling scenery to feast the eyes. The first twenty minutes are fairly proficient, introducing the setting as well as the titular character as he witnesses a horrific tragedy of his village and his father. The scenery of the ancient world, resembling the middle- earth universe of the 'Lord of The Rings', in which the action takes place is at least nice look at. But when it comes down to kicking the action in gear, that is when the film crumbles. Director Marcus Nispel appears to have almost no interest in plot and instead allots a vast majority of proceeding splicing a long series of choppily edited battle sequences, and they all stitched together with constant brief moments of talking that rarely amounts of any sort of development to the plot or characters. Now is there any ounce of excitement delivered throughout the proceeding? Yes, but it comes far and few in between to the point where you question your willingness to sustain to the end. And for the bigger question, was Jason Momoa the right choice for substituting Arnold Schwartznegger in the role? While Momoa's performance is not inept, the portrayal of his character is tarnish by his weak and at times, laughable dialogue. The same problem lies with Stephen Lang's portrayal of Khalar Zym. And Ron Perlman, good grief! What a waste of a wildly compelling actor. Conan the Barbarian is a unfertile sword-and-sorcery fantasy actioner plagued by an overabundance of graphically violent battle sequences without any solid effort of pushing for a coherent narrative. Those who come for to snack on some intense swordplay and graphic carnage will by mildly satisfied, while those seeking for a compelling story will be drenched in disappointment. Hollywood could use a sweet rendition of the barbarian warrior, but this is not it.

I've never seen any of the original Conan films with Ahnuld (I know, get the torches and pitchforks), so I don't really have anything to compare Marcus Nispel's remake to, but on it's own I found it to be a solid, serviceable sword and sandal outing with a welcome hard R rating and some neat work from legendary actors. Jason Momoa was fresh of his Game Of Thrones stint, jumping right into a very similar role as iconic Conan, a musclebound soldier of fortune on a grisly quest to exact revenge against warlord who decimated his village when he was but a pup. Momoa exudes a different aura than I imagine Schwarzenegger must have, a stoic, silent tunnel vision style as opposed to posing theatrically. It works, but it's a new Conan from the one I've seen in many a trailer and snippet on TV, that's for sure. My favourite part of the film is the extended prologue, which just somehow feels like the most grounded part, whereas everything else is almost cartoonish, reminding me of stuff like The Mummy. The opening is terrific though, introducing us to a young Conan (Leo Howard) and his father Corin (Ron Perlman, who else?), living in their nomadic village on the edge of nowhere. Enter tyrannical villain Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang) and his super freaky daughter Marique (Ivana Staneva), played later down the line by Rose McGowan, before she got all lame on us. Laying waste to Conan's home and killing countless people including Corin, he is left to breed fearsome vengeance for years, until he sets out into the wide world on a journey to find Zym and mess him up real good. The story is standard, the action is well staged by Nispel, who has a golden eye for spectacularly orchestrated displays of violence in his films, and pulls no punches here. He also casts roles on the nose, and has for years. Lang is in overdrive, practically frothing at the mouth and turning Zym into something scary indeed. McGowan is straight out of a Takahashi Miike film, all bone white hissing snarls and needle sharp appendages, a hellcat with supreme bloodlust that you just don't want to encounter. Momoa has the brawn for Conan, but a few extra syllables of dialogue wouldn't have hurt, if only to round the guy out some more and give Jason something to say, which he rarely gets to do in his work it seems. I think parts of the film, especially the finale, were somewhat ruined for me by the catastrophically bad 3D they used (when oh when will they learn with the damned 3D), so I feel like a Blu Ray revisit is nigh, in which I can fully appreciate some of the set pieces without being reminded of a popup book. It's a good time at the movies, but like I said, I have nothing to compare it to as far as Conan goes.