The new CONAN movie: Okay, I’m in.

The new CONAN movie: Okay, I’m in.


CONAN is coming. Okay, I’ve had serious doubts until now, based on the “teaser trailer” I’d seen. But this new trailer does it. I’m sold. I’m officially excited and enthused about this new CONAN movie. The Hyborian Age settings look terrific; Rose McGowan looks creepy as hell–nice touch having a female villain; the costuming and design looks superb; the creatures are well-done CGI beasties.

Is this the Arnold S. Conan from ’82? Is it the John Buscema-drawn Conan? Or the Frank Frazetta-painted Conan? No…it’s a new incarnation. Actor Jason Momoa reminds me of the Young Conan–the one Barry Windsor Smith drew in the 70s at Marvel Comics. If only he had that two-horned helmet and that three-disc necklace, he’d be a dead ringer. It’s a younger, rawer Conan, fresh from Cimmeria and the siege of Venarium. The Conan from Howard’s “Tower of the Elephant” story: a savage youth set loose in a civilization of decadent savagery.

I’m a HUGE fan of the original CONAN THE BARBARIAN film–the one directed by John Milius and co-writen by Oliver Stone. But I’m ready to jump in and experience this new take on Robert E. Howard’s most enduring character. For a guy who grew up reading Conan books, comics, and magazine–and someone who considers the original a classic–that’s saying a lot.

Of course, you can only tell so much from a trailer…but I’ve got a good feeling about this one. That said, I’m going to skip the 3D version and see the 2D instead…except for AVATAR, 3D tends to ruin most movies these days.

Judge for yourself at Yahoo:
http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/conan-the-barbarian/1809953260#first

And if the movie still sucks, despite all this going for it: Crom help us all!

I reserve my final verdict until I actually see the film.

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Bill Ward

hmmm, maybe there *is* hope for this flick…

i will say the weapons are comically overlarge, but if that’s the only issue with the film i’d certainly not complain.

John ONeill

John,

You’re right. The trailer is certainly filled with lots of colorful characters, and some terrific looking sets. Plus Momoa seems to carry it off.

I’m definitely intrigued. Count me in.

Jeff Stehman

Doom! Doom!

JRF, the first rule of movies is if you go in with high opes, it’ll suck.

Doom!

john_a_karr

It is has a far more Epic feel to it than the original movie, so there’s hope there, since the original was only a fair attempt at REH’s spirit.

But please, dispense with the spin-moves when sword fighting.

TheMoose65

I don’t know. I still have a LOT of doubts. Marcus Nispel directed…and look at his track record: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake), Pathfinder, Friday the 13th (remake). I am a bit of a film snob…but I was a really big fan of the original Conan movie…not so much the sequel. (But seriously…how do you follow an R-rated movie with a PG-rated one?)

In Game of Thrones Jason Momoa makes a great-looking barbarian as Khal Drogo, but he hasn’t done much yet besides look the part. I think he could pull off Conan, I just wish they would of done something more source for the story. All the brilliant source material but they decide to take more of a note from the original movie, with Conan bent on revenge. I’d like to see a nice trilogy, a young Conan raiding and thieving, a slightly older Conan on his way to becoming a King, then finished off with Conan as King.

We’ll see.

NewGuyDave

What’s with the jump-attacks in movies? Did the director hit X-Y on his control pad during the fight sequence?

This has been going on for too long now and needs to stop. First, there was Brad Pitt’s Achiles during the duel in Troy, then Sam Worthington’s Perseus in CotT, and now Conan jumping to stab a sword down at somebody. Weak.

It’s as bad as spinning during combat; looks pretty on screen, but isn’t all that useful.

Otherwise, this might not be half bad.

-NGD

Matthew David Surridge

It does look nice, but man have those production notes left me wary. I didn’t get any real sense for the story of the film; normally that’s something I appreciate in a trailer, but here it’s the story that’s the big question for me. Still, Momoa looks right to me, and I think you’re right that there is a Windsor-Smith feel to him. So hopefully worth a flyer.

ChristianLindke

I think that this looks like it might be a fun romp. It’s a little further from the source material than I might have hoped, but if the score is good and the story exciting I’ll be happy with a “different Conan.”

But I am going into the theater assuming this will suck in order to appease the “beats my expectations” gods.

As for the spinning and jumping. These all occur because movie characters have all been stated with post-Feng Shui statistics/powers. Some directors use Pathfinder, and others 4e, and it looks like Conan’s jump move is a multi-class use of the Essentials Rogue “Acrobatic Strike” maneuver.

GreenGestalt

Seeing the trailer, I had a better opinion of the movie than earlier. I’d earlier thought it was just “Kull” where they film outside eastern European ruins (in the days they were new, well…) but make it PC and lame.

But, still, if only it was “Sword and the Sorceror 2”, “DeathStalker 5” or they put a cool mask on him and it was “Tim Vigil’s Cuda”…well, I’d be WILD about it then. Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery getting the treatment it deserves at last, mabye they’ll get Arnie back for “King Conan” someday.

And, really, except for that painfully laughable “Take over all of Hyboria” and bits of that re-quoted bit from Queen of the Black Coast, if they’d titled the movie like any of my suggestions, would anybody said “Hey! That should be Conan!”?

[…] been felt in the background, but he’s getting a lot more press lately due to an upcoming film adaptation (complete with new trailer). This supplement focuses […]

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