Director: John Milius
Writer: John Milius, Oliver Stone (Screenplay) Robert E Howard (Characters)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max Von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman, Ben Davidson, Cassandra Gava, Gerry Lopez, Mako
Plot: A vengeful barbarian warrior sets off to avenge his tribe and his parents whom were slain by an evil sorcerer and his warriors when he was a boy.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Classic Adventure
Story: Conan the Barbarian starts with the message ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. We start by meeting a young Conan being told the stories about the Gods and man’s battles and how the secret of steel. We see the soldiers lead by Thulsa Doom (Jones) destroy young Conan’s village killing everyone leaving Conan the only survivor. The children are all forced into slavery and it is here where Conan (Schwarzenegger) becomes a man.
Conan is used in fights due to his considerable size and strength where he gets trained in the art of combat where he stays loyal to his steel respect. When Conan gets set free of his slavery demands he starts his own quest to avenge his parent’s death. Along the way Conan meets a string of characters that help and hinder his journey but most off all test him. Conan befriends himself with Valeria (Bergman) and Subotia (Lopez) where they start to become the most notorious thieves in the land. The reputation growing the group gets given a quest by King Osric (Von Sydow) to retrieve his daughter from the Thulsa Doom for as much as they can carry.
Conan the Barbarian really does fill the tick boxes needed for a good adventure film, we get the unlikely friendships out to stop an evil leader. We get the idea of a cult like leader which makes his army deadly because they will die to protect him, we also end up going through the whole slave to a king storyline around Conan. The story is easy to follow because everything just unfolds and the narration keeps everything that would be difficult to film informing us the important information. This is what you would expect it to be easy to watch action film so just enjoy. (7/10)
Actor Review
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Conan is the slave who gets his freedom where he becomes a thief before entering on a quest that will end up putting him on a path for revenge against the man who killed his parents. Arnold continues to show why he continued to reach the next levels in the acting world with this role. (7/10)
James Earl Jones: Thulsa Doom is the leader who killed Conan’s parents before putting him into slavery, he leads an army that’s only desire is to die fighting for him but little does he know what type of man Conan has turned into. James does a good job in the role showing his talents shining through in the villainous role. (7/10)
Sandahl Bergman: Valeria is a fellow thief that becomes a love interest of Conan as they both get the chance to collect their biggest pay day as he goes for revenge. Sandahl does give a solid performance as the warrior like fellow fighter. (6/10)
Support Cast: Conan the Barbarian has a large supporting cast that fight both for and against Conan which gives us the sidekick characters needed to make Conan stay on the serious side of the film.
Director Review: John Milius – John does a good directing an enjoyable action adventure film. (7/10)
Action: Conan the Barbarian is filled with combat scenes that keep becoming large and more important as the film unfolds. (8/10)
Adventure: Conan the Barbarian puts our characters on a quest that will take them across the land to fight against the enemies. (8/10)
Fantasy: Conan the Barbarian puts us into a fantasy world with certain beliefs from start to finish. (8/10)
Settings: Conan the Barbarian puts us into a world that we believe we are inside the world. (8/10)
Special Effects: Conan the Barbarian has solid effects but it would be fair to say they have dated now. (5/10)
Suggestion: Conan the Barbarian is one to try, I personally felt it was a little bit too long but otherwise it is all fun. (Try it)
Best Part: Final battle.
Worst Part: Slightly long.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final fight.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has a sequel and a remake
Post Credits Scene: No
Awards: Won a Golden Globe for New Star in Motion Picture.
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $37.5 Million
Budget: $20 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 9 Minutes
Tagline: He conquered an empire with his sword. She conquered HIM with her bare hands.
Trivia: James Earl Jones was a last minute addition to the cast because of his commitments on Broadway. He and Arnold Schwarzenegger became friends on-set; Schwarzenegger helped Jones stay in shape and Jones coached Schwarzenegger on acting; so did Max von Sydow.
Overall: Conan is an enjoyable adventure that can still be enjoyed over 30 years later.
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