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Conan the Barbarian

A new take on the Conan mythology for a new audience. As a young boy Conan is eager to prove himself in battle and being born on the battlefield, Conan is no stranger to death. Khalar Zym an ancient warrior desperate to bring back his sorceress wife sets out to find the mystical mask that can bring her back, though it was shattered into several pieces Khalar manages to recover them all except one which lies hidden in the barbarian village kept safe by Corin, Conan's father. Khalar invades the village with his severe army and attempts to take the last piece while Corin and Conan stand together against him, however they appear to be no match against the scale of his armies and ultimately end up trapped, With Corin giving his life for his son and Khalar leaving them both for dead. Conan sets out, his journey from boy to barbarian ahead of him and only the hope of vengeance to push him forward.

Jason Momoa does a good job of playing the brutal and brave barbarian, delivering the physical build of a warrior and even trying to make the character that bit edgier yet there are only so many things you can do with the beastly barbarian. Stephen Lang plays the villainous Khalar Zym and his crazy eyes always blazing feel out home with a tyrannical ruler who wants the world as well as the emotional rage and reasoning Khalar is a decent enemy to Conan. Rose McGowan plays Khalar's cruel and unhinged daughter Marique with a odd haircut to add to her insanity and powers to prove she's a sorceress, her character usually is a low risk obstacle for the barbarian and nothing more. Rachel Nichols adds to a long line of 'Damsel in distress' girls, one second trying to prove their tough then change completely and beg to be saved, while the role was played well there wasn't really much to do with the character other than a mild storyline of destiny which adds to the plot.

There was no real demand for a Conan remake or not that I've heard of anyway but alas here it is, little more than a 'Prince of Persia' meets '300' though with  a heck of a lot more nudity and violence this really is the tale of revenge and blood-lust. The acting was good, the fight scenes were good and the humor was actually quite... well humorous at times, but other than that things just don't fit that well. The story isn't great and the usual 'Stop bad man from taking over the world' though a staple for most action/adventure films, it seemed to be the only part of the story other than wanting revenge while everything else along the way is just thrown into the mix with no real importance. Not quite the epic that it would seem, the film is a generally dull exit for the summer and doesn't do anything new or original though entertaining at parts it's too over the top and lacking in any real goods.

3  /  10

FIN.

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