30 August 2011

Conan The Barbarian

This film hasn't had a lot of publicity in the weeks prior to its release, but now that people have seen it for the first time, there should be.

Conan has been around for a while now, becoming famous from the pages of the original books by Robert E. Howard, as well as featuring in comics by Marvel and being written about by various other authors. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first to play him on the big screen, and he immediately shot to fame.

So with this in mind, how did this film work out?

The plot is rather similar to that of the 1987 film, where Conan sets out to avenge his father and also rescues a Princess. However, it has to be said that there is a lot of depth and vision in this 2011 version. The scenes are both bloody and brutal as people get killed in rather... imaginative ways. There is an air of magic and war that the fantasy lover would adore. And amongst all that is the character of Conan himself.

I have not read the books, but I was reliably informed that the film had indeed done them justice. Conan is every bit the warrior, but also the human. He likes to drink himself into a stupor with his winnings and have lots of beautiful women around him, and here the film fails to disappoint.

The acting was very good, but of course Jason Momoa, playing Conan, simply stole the show, even with the likes of Ron Pearlman (HellBoy), Stephen Lang (Avatar) and Rose McGowan (Charmed) in supporting roles.

The end was the only part that could have been better. At any moment I was waiting for something else to happen, but it never did, and I was left feeling like they left out a bit.

A fast paced and exciting film, it shows all the promise of becoming a firm favourite with fantasy and comic book lovers alike. An 8 out of 10.

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