Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Directed by Marcus Nispel
A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.
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21 films that influenced Conan the Barbarian
What critics say influenced Conan the Barbarian
The popularity of Conan the Barbarian peaked during the early 1980s, with no fewer than three monthly comic books to go along with the books and the first Arnold Schwarzenegger movie .
In "Conan the Barbarian," the latest attempt to bring the muscular hero of the pulp novels of Robert E. Howard to the big screen (following John Milius' 1982 classic of the same name that made a star of the then-unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger, the lame family-friendly 1984 sequel "Conan the Destroyer" and the appearance of an ersatz version featured in the ludicrous 1985 take on Howard's "Red Sonja," enemies are crushed and driven before us in enormous numbers but the greatest lamentations are likely to come from fans of the character as they once again watch Hollywood screw up what should have been a sure thing.
Arnold went on to portray Conan in two increasingly disappointing movies: 1982's amusing "Conan the Barbarian" and 1984's godawful "Conan the Destroyer".
In "Conan the Barbarian," the latest attempt to bring the muscular hero of the pulp novels of Robert E. Howard to the big screen (following John Milius' 1982 classic of the same name that made a star of the then-unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger, the lame family-friendly 1984 sequel "Conan the Destroyer" and the appearance of an ersatz version featured in the ludicrous 1985 take on Howard's "Red Sonja," enemies are crushed and driven before us in enormous numbers but the greatest lamentations are likely to come from fans of the character as they once again watch Hollywood screw up what should have been a sure thing.
The pulp hero created by Robert E. Howard (who committed suicide in 1936) in the 1930s, was at the height of his cultural visibility in the 1980s, when the “Swords and Sorcery” movie genre resurfaced with such films as “Krull,” “Willow,” “Kull the Conqueror.”
If this piss-poor lead role is any indication, former "Baywatch" hunk Jason Momoa (2004's " Johnson Family Vacation ") would have been better off staying at the beach than delving into a feature film career.
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They know that no matter which actor plays the role, he would suffer in comparison to the indelible image of Schwarzenegger in what was is his most iconic part to date; two years later, Schwarzengger appeared in James Cameron’s “The Terminator.”
By the late 1980s, Schwarzenegger had done The Terminator and Predator, and he was a superstar.
By the late 1980s, Schwarzenegger had done The Terminator and Predator, and he was a superstar.
The cinematography by Thomas Kloss (2002's " Showtime ") is hazy, grim, reliant on fuzzy filters, and just plain gross (with or without 3-D), resembling the effect of gazing through a filthy, muck-covered window.
He did "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th" reduxes, and the one non-remake was the equally unoriginal "The Pathfinder."
Having refashioned “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Friday the 13,th” German-born director Marcus Nispel again demonstrates strong visual style.
Gory remakes of marginal quality are something of a specialty for German-born director Marcus Nispel who counts the 2003 redo of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and 2009's "Friday the 13th" among his artier achievements.
Directed by horror-remake guy Marcus Nispel ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Friday the 13th"), the film is plenty violent -- but usually in a way that's merely bloody and ugly, not twisted.
Marcus Nispel has found cinematic success not through an original artist's point-of-view, but via his continual mounting of money-in-the-bank remakes such as 2003's " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre " and 2009's " Friday the 13th ."
After bringing a measure of visual style to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th," the helmer once again exceeds expectations, however modest they may have been to begin with.
Gory remakes of marginal quality are something of a specialty for German-born director Marcus Nispel who counts the 2003 redo of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and 2009's "Friday the 13th" among his artier achievements.
Marcus Nispel has found cinematic success not through an original artist's point-of-view, but via his continual mounting of money-in-the-bank remakes such as 2003's " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre " and 2009's " Friday the 13th ."
There’s the horror remake god, a man responsible for giving The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th a cruel, contemporary spin.
This new movie, while not a direct remake, has a similar feel, though Nispel, whose career has taken him from directing commercials and music videos to remakes for the big screen ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," 2003, "Friday the 13th," 2009), ramps up the violence.
As he has shown in his new takes on the cult movies, “The Texas Chain Masscare” and “Friday the 13th,” Marcus Nispul is a craftsman, but not a director who pays much attention to narrative logic or characterization.
Director Nispel has built quite a reputation as the "Remake King" with previous efforts Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Platinum Dunes, but with Conan he proves that it is possible to maintain a respectful balance between homage and reinvention, and perhaps the missteps in his previous reimagingings may have had more to do with Platinum Dunes than his efforts at the helm.
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Ela-Shan, the thief (Saïd Taghmaoui, "Traitor," "G.I.
It emerges as another figurine in the ongoing retooling of 1980s pop touchstones for know-nothing 2000s consumers, following The Smurfs, Transformers, TRON, The Karate Kid, Clash of the Titans, to name only a few.