Bold, bloody and bodacious fun — that is what the audience watching the reboot of the Arnold Schwarzenegger star-maker will experience. Jason Momoa takes over the starring role, alongside a slew of genre familiar faces such as Rose McGowan (“Planet Terror”), Rachel Nichols (“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”), Stephen Lang (“Avatar”), and Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”). It’s a true origin story as during the first 15 minutes we see Conan’s birth in blood as a young Conan earns his place as a warrior amongst his people while still a boy.
“Conan the Barbarian” boldly embraces its B-movie roots. This is not some cerebral thriller that will earn Oscar nods, but it is great fun. With just the right amount of cheese, while you’re drawn into the story and the characters you’re not expecting great moments of introspection either. The 3D quality and effects are excellent, so when the blood splatters and the sword slices you literally jump up, as if you felt it and don’t want any to get on your clothes.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but Rachel Nichols is a true burst of light in this movie. Her chemistry with Momoa is delightful; the audience will definitely find themselves rooting for these two to live happily ever after. Nichols is not the same princess from the original and for that, I was grateful.
Perlman brought the right amount of wisdom and gravitas as Conan’s father and Lang was a worthy villain. The only sour note was McGowan as the witch; she affected what seemed to be a snake-like hissing voice that wasn’t so much menacing as it was distracting.
All in all, if you’re looking for an end-of-summer action-packed adventure movie “Conan the Barbarian” is definitely the movie for you.
Below — courtesy of IAmRogue and Trailer Addict — you can watch a featurette where Momoa, McGowan, Nichols, Perlman and Leo Howard talk about the film.
. . .
Follow Jessica Morales on Twitter at https://twitter.com/athena606.
Very nice! Can’t wait to see it!