Wednesday, August 24, 2011

CONAN the Barbarian 2011 - Mikey's review.

Ok...I have come back from seeing the film for the second time and now it's time I share my thoughts and feelings on the film. So here goes....IT WAS A SWEEPING EPIC! It was everything I expected and a little bit more. The minor critiques I have will go without saying because anybody whose read CONAN knows the certain things that are wrong that I picked up on and we really don't need to go bashing the film for it's shortcomings. Rather yet let us focus on it's strengths and it's positives.

The opening scene on the battle field where Conan is born and held to the sky is nothing less than an omen...( In the film ) CONAN is a warrior bred and born. He slays ( at 14 years old ) several pictish warriors with their bones and filed teeth and proves he is a worthy and formidable warrior even at his young age. I did not think any of these early depictions of his younger days were in any way shape or form ridiculous or something to laugh at. ( I understand CONAN stories and such ) The people who missed the point? Well..." To HELL with you! "
The entire film was like an issue of SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN with life breathed into it.
every gut bursting sword swipe and the brutal and deliberate way he dispatched his enemies after he tracked them down....( The pee coming from the noseless fat guy as he drove his finger deep into the guys face ) THAT'S CONAN BITCH!
Jason was a perfect fit for the role...his expressions and intensity really showed how he captured the character. His physique left nothing to be desired...the guy is a big dude OK! So stop comparing him to the esteemed Mr. Shwarzenegger. He's got his own deal goin'.
The character of Khalar Zym...as ruthless a son of a bitch you'd ever want in a villain and he played off Jason perfectly. Rose Mcgowan as Marique....whoah...creepy. She was still sexy in a tear your balls off and shove them down your throat kind of I'd do her anyway kind of way.
I can't say enough about the intense battle with the sand men. The non stop action and blood flying and flowing freely was just what you'd expect from having read the early "Howard" yarns and even more recent "Moore" pastiches. I expect no less....My poor wife who despises gore was cringing and hiding her face behind my shoulder during every battle for fear of getting blood spatter on her! ( 3D )
I would indeed like to see another CONAN film...LIONSGATE should really think about getting ARNOLD in there to boost box office sales. Perhaps as the villain in the next film or an aging Cimmerian warrior who CONAN goes to for assistance. But that is what people want, Big stars.
COME ON MAN! Morgan Freeman narrating! WTF ccould be better than that save for Orson Wells or John Houston or William Conrad or James Earl Jones! IT's MORGAN F'N FREEMAN DUDE! No one can absolutely say why this film did as badly at the box office as it has. It's like people avoided it and the 10 mil that it did make was from people like us who care enough to write or follow blogs dedicated to our hero of HEROES!
All I know is them there fools do not know what they missed out on. When I like a movie I see it several times before it's pulled and goes to home video. I saw Alien resurection 4 times and The first Brendan Fraser MUMMY film 3 times and each LORD OF THE RINGS FILM 3 TIMES....CONAN I will go see again at least 2 more times. ( Then when I get the DVD another 4 times )
If I had to rate this film on a scale of 1 to 10 Battle axes...I give it an easy 8 battle axes! Easy I say!
I certainly hope there will be another one as they say they have planned. With the right promotional campaign and a big name or two...there is no reason it would not do better.
Now...I'm drinking some beers and I'm just about done. I gotta go get me a couple more bottles. ( By the way...I will show everyone the stuff I won from FANBOY comics in the next day or so ).

ALL HAIL CROM , ALL HAIL CONAN !

13 comments:

rozum said...

Why did Zim’s army transport the giant ship across land by elephants?

Anonymous said...

It's fitting that the movie opens with a womb being pierced, because it felt as though fanboys were eager to kill this movie (and any potential franchise) from the very beginning.

Frankly, I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel the "Savage Sword" comparison is apt. No, it wasn't the Conan story I would've chosen, but you could see how much potential was there for a sequel.

I suspect the movie will find its audience on dvd- particularly with an extended cut.

Anonymous said...

It's fitting that the movie opens with a womb being pierced, because it feels as though fanboys were eager to kill this movie (and any potential franchise) from the very beginning.

Frankly, I thoroughly enjoyed it and think the "Savage Sword" comparison is apt. No, it wasn't the Conan story I would've chosen, but you could see how much potential there was for a sequel.

I suspect the movie will find its audience on dvd- especially if there's an extended cut.

PS. @ rozum, the original plan was for the giant ship to be used at sea- during the battle against Artus' ship, the Hornet. The idea was ultimately scrapped because of budget concerns, but they couldn't omit the earlier footage of the ship that already existed.

Anonymous said...

And sorry about the doube...er, triple post. I thought the first attempt had failed to go through!

nephite blood spartan heart said...

I hope there is an extended cut.

rozum said...

@Anonymous, thanks for the info, makes sense now.

Dominic said...

I can't say I was as stoked as Mikey, but it was a good enough film that could have been better, but could have been a whole lot worse.

Random thought occurred to me this morning (this is the kind of stuff that pollutes my head at 5:30 am):
Wouldn't Stephen Lang make a great King Conan? He's got the acting chops, the physique and the attitude. Now that's a movie I'd like to see.

Mike D. said...

The ship carried by Elephants...remember that Warlords and Kings were extravagant and merciless. Remember Xerxes in 300?
For this Warlord he had them carry his whole damned ship. Now that is truly a mad man.

rory said...

Glad you liked it. I thought Mamoa was a great Conan especially if you've read the books. I liked a lot of the earlier action but the ending was a mess IMO.

The tentacle monster didn't add much and the money spent on that could have been better used when the crown was put on the kings head. He finally gets the thing together and....nothing.

Anonymous said...

Your poor wife; for so many reasons.

Mike D. said...

THANK YOU!

Rick said...

I loved it also!! Your review hit right on the head!!! A sequel could build & improve on the weakness's this movie had.but the kid who played conan & momoa definitely did an excellent performance of favorite barbarian.

Kike said...

I hate this movie. I mean, I truly hate it.