Review of Conan the Barbarian (1982) by Harry W — 27 Jun 2012
It wouldn't surprise me if all the dialogue in Conan the Barbarian could fit on ten pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 letter paper. And, mind you, this movie is over 2 hours long. The titular character, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, gets his first line approximately 20 minutes into the picture.
(Probably a good idea, since he appears labored each time he speaks.) There's also a bigger problem, something in the script stage which should have been worked out ahead of production: the film feels like it was designed to be broken up into smaller adventures for a future release.
Scenes fade to black after an action sequence and, truth be told, I could imagine the screenwriters adapting Conan comic books for this film, taking random books and trying to make them go together. Oh, the movie is bloody and violent with a booming score and all the pulp/camp you can take.
Not much of it makes sense, though I'm not sure it's supposed to. This is designed to be goofy fun, mimicking the original source material. On the heels of Star Wars, didn't audiences expect just a little more from their fantasy movies?
This review of Conan the Barbarian (1982) was written by Harry W on 27 Jun 2012.
Conan the Barbarian has generally received positive reviews.
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