Review of Conan the Barbarian (1982) by Cristofo R — 17 Apr 2010
I highly enjoyed this movie. I remeber seeing part of it on TV when I was a kid and being absolutely mesmerized. Having now seen the film multiple times, I have to say that it holds up. Arnold's performance is great, even if his acting lacks a bit of polish.
James Earl Jones makes for a great villain as usual. Having read all of the original Conan short stories, I'm still amazed at how faithful the movie is to the spirit of them, if not the letter. If anything, though, the film has more depth than the stories ever did.
The stories were basically adventures: Conan enters an area, fights some threat, be it human or supernatural, and gets the girl. The film has added layers about the development of man and the proper use of power.
If the film trilogy had proceeded as planned, than this theme would have become more apparent, as Conan would have to face the consequences of his actions in the final film. Instead, we got the cheese fest that was Conan the Destroyer.
That was the true crime, ladies and gentlemen.
This review of Conan the Barbarian (1982) was written by Cristofo R on 17 Apr 2010.
Conan the Barbarian has generally received positive reviews.
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