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Original D&D Discussion :: Other :: Howard and Hyboria :: Conan movie -- what do you think?
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Finarvyn
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Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Thread Started on Dec 23, 2011, 9:48pm »
I'm watching the Conan movie now. (Paused the DVD in order to do some chores and thought I'd check the boards while I had a moment.)

I'll confess that I went into this with very low expectations, but it's been at least decent so far. Seems more dark and gritty than the Ah-nold version of the 1980's.

I thought they spent a lot of time introducing the character, which is ironic since Howard never really did any of that -- he just jumped right into the action. Also interesting that they are trying to give Conan a wide-sweeping motivation instead of a bunch of little adventures.

I'll post more when I finish the movie.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #1 on Dec 23, 2011, 10:10pm »
I enjoyed the film. Momoa did a creditable job as Conan, I found his take on the character rather interesting.

(an opinion, and offered as such, in no wise intended to be a statement of fact or a challenge to Conan enthusiasts)
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #2 on Dec 23, 2011, 10:36pm »
I found it pretty enjoyable but not great. It had a sense of humour without being silly, sorcery was freaky & Momoa was an ok Conan (although I feel they overdid the glowering).

The story was a bit vague & the final battle they fell for the fault of trying to make it exciting by location, rather than because of energy between the characters. If they had explored the weird father/daughter conflict with Conan as a third force in that final battle it could have been interesting on another level.

Overall it is a 6/7 out of 10 for me. I am not one who will rage about it not being strictly true to Howard, I'll just take it for what it is. Although I am sure there is a great Conan movie yet to be made somehow.

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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #3 on Dec 24, 2011, 11:05am »
I'm in the same camp as Marv. I finally got around to watching it last week, and my expectations were set so low by all of the "reviews" on RPG boards and blogs, that I ended up enjoying it. The plot was "Conan-ish" in the sense that it reminded me of a Conan story, though it certainly didn't hew close to any of them, and Momoa made a "truer" Conan, IMO, than AS (from another adaptation of Conan I will shamefully admit that I enjoyed also :-[).
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #4 on Dec 24, 2011, 4:06pm »
Well, I did finish the movie last night and it wasn't as bad as expected.

I'm a little puzzled by the semi-bald chick with talon fingernails. A bit over-the-top for me.

I kind of wish they had made a few more references to places in Conan's world. I had a hard time understanding some of the place names they spoke of, but I get used to hearing about Aquilonia and Stygia and other places like that.

I kind of expected a giant python to battle, but perhaps the director thought it would be too much like the Schwartzenegger version.

Overall, the guy who played Conan seemed to act well and played the part well. The girl they picked to be the chosen one didn't just stand around looking helpless, which was a nice change.

There were some decent Lovecraft-Howard-Smith kinds of elements. Damsel tied to an alter. Weird tentacle things to be fought. Stuff like that.

Overall I rate it above average. :D
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #5 on Dec 24, 2011, 4:08pm »

Dec 24, 2011, 11:05am, foxroe wrote:
AS (from another adaptation of Conan I will shamefully admit that I enjoyed also :-[).
Don't be ashamed of this. I enjoyed the other Conan movies as well. They were a little campy and slapstick at times, but overall a decent pair of movies.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #6 on Dec 24, 2011, 4:31pm »
I thought it was pretty decent fantasy fare. The plot was nothing new, but the effects were good and the landscapes looked Hyborean. I think Jason Momoa looked a LOT more like the way Howard described Conan than Arnold did. Sleek, pantherish physique? Check. Bronzed skin? Check. Scarred torso? Check. Slightly sinister features? Check.

While not a brilliant film by any measure, it hit the right sword and sorcery vibe with me and I enjoyed it for what it was.

Now if only they could get the Solomon Kane film released in America.

Doc
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #7 on Dec 24, 2011, 8:57pm »
I liked them, too.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #8 on Dec 24, 2011, 9:16pm »

Dec 24, 2011, 4:31pm, doc wrote:
Now if only they could get the Solomon Kane film released in America.
Agreed. I want to see it pretty badly, even if it didn't get the best reviews either on some of the gaming threads.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #9 on Jan 2, 2012, 10:01pm »
I did a review over at http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/ . My take was Mamoa was a great Conan, but the world was awful, the pronunciations horrific, and the macguffin awful. But for all that, Mamoa carries it well and I enjoyed it. I have the blu-ray.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #10 on Jan 6, 2012, 8:55pm »
I thought it was a fun movie.

Not near as good as the Solomon Kane film, but a fun movie.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #11 on Jan 7, 2012, 1:45pm »
It was pretty average. Momoa made a great Conan, in my opinion, but the plot was really vague and boring.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #12 on Jan 7, 2012, 8:10pm »
I thought it was extremely well acted but quite poorly written. I will never understand why they don't just adapt a Howard story instead of writing their own...

Still, much better than the AS Destroyer and a little better than the AS Barbarian. And I will continue owning all three.
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #13 on Jan 8, 2012, 1:27pm »

Jan 7, 2012, 8:10pm, darkling wrote:
I thought it was extremely well acted but quite poorly written. I will never understand why they don't just adapt a Howard story instead of writing their own...

Still, much better than the AS Destroyer and a little better than the AS Barbarian. And I will continue owning all three.


Actually, there's supposed to be an animated one based on Red Nails with Ron Perlman voicing Conan, but it's been in development hell for some time now. . .
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Re: Conan movie -- what do you think?
« Reply #14 on Jan 8, 2012, 5:09pm »

Jan 7, 2012, 8:10pm, darkling wrote:
I thought it was extremely well acted but quite poorly written. I will never understand why they don't just adapt a Howard story instead of writing their own...

Still, much better than the AS Destroyer and a little better than the AS Barbarian. And I will continue owning all three.


The ONLY thing I've heard from Mamoa that made me doubt he was the right guy for the part: he said that he feels the real fans of Conan don't want an adaptation because "they've already read those stories. They want something new, like something that focuses on all the supernatural creatures in Conan's world."

I read that in an interview and thought, "...BWUH?"
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