Review of Conan the Barbarian (1982) by Stuart M — 28 Aug 2018

Along with Princess Bride, the ONLY good Fantasy film before LotR. And a lot of that is down to the fact that it takes itself seriously. Scratch that: that it's ABLE to take itself seriously. The mystical elements (while substantial) are treated in a restrained enough manner that they don't grate and blend in with the pseudo-ancient world setting.

Underselling seems to be the best way to go when avoiding cheese in magic, at least until CGI changed the equation, but even the more explicit fantastical scenes (most notably James Earl Jones turning into a snake) are done so well that they still hold up.

In fact, the film has aged well. A big part of what makes the film so good is that it avoids the tired old medieval fantasy setting (the fairy tale castles, the glittering kings, the armies and armor.

..) and takes a more primal approach. This elevates even stereotypical Fantasy elements like the wizard (lovingly played by Mako) into something more grounded. The scene of healing by painting symbols on the body is a noteworthy example.

It feels less polished and antiseptic than magic tends to be. And that's why the world really works. I left wanting to know more about Hyperborea (it's really underdeveloped) and that's a good thing to say about any film.