Conan - Part 1

[rogue trooper]

ah whit...I was the one who cited the fact there were both negative and positive 'purist' posters over at Conan com, funny how you decided not to quote that part of my post.

and you know fine well that all you did in response to that was try to undermine the negative ones by citing that posters over there had a race problem with the actor, you never went into specifics, obviously, you just wanted to quickly and briskly tarnish the fact I said there were negative reviews over there from posters. Even though I cited there were both positive and negative reviews, get a grip man, grow up and stop trying to do some fancy footwork in regards to dodging what you have been doing, your footwork just isn't fancy enough in the first place.

Wow!! You're full of it!!

What you're doing is interpreting my posts in such a way to fit your pretentious, unfounded claims. You're ultra-sensitive, dude. Relax.

My comment regarding Momoa's mixed-ethnicity was to make a point that some Howard purists tend to be very heavy in details. That's all. I wasn't tarnishing anything, that's just your childish, pretentious mind.

 

[rogue trooper]

Hell, he just dismissed me as a 'casual' fan, since I brought this up, lol. I mean, i don't care about that at all, I have read 4 volumes of the SSoC books, with all the REH adapted stories, I may not have read the literary originals, but I know what the character and stories are about for the most part I would guess. I guess 'casual' reader is a fair enough description, but it's just funny that he always finds some angle to try and dismiss anyone presenting a negative, or even balanced overview, that is not in the overwhelmingly positive.

Again, there you go being pretentious.

I'm speaking in a relative term. There are those Howardists who have read all of Robert E. Howard's letters and biographies, where there is alot of detail regarding the significance of the stories he wrote. That's what I meant by down-to-the-core. Hope this helps.

Now, the "casual" comment, I guess that could have been a poorly structured sentence on my part. It's fixed now. For the benefit of you, I hope it is, anyway.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

Relax? I'm Kool and the gang buddy, it's you who need to cool yr beans and allow for the fact that there will be negative reviews that are not automatically biased against the movie or genre.
It's easy enough for folk to read the thread and see my points were valid.

 

[Shawn Wayne]

Relax? I'm Kool and the gang buddy, it's you who need to cool yr beans and allow for the fact that there will be negative reviews that are not automatically biased against the movie or genre.
It's easy enough for folk to read the thread and see my points were valid.

Your posts were valid. They all are, just a vast difference of opinion on the film. I thought it was silly. Between Lang's and Mcgowen's way over the top performances i kept waiting on the clown posse from Batman Returns to attack Conan out of nowhere. There were great moments too, but they were too few and far between.

 

[Marvolo]

Saw this yesterday. I've never seen the Arnold films or read the original novel. It was alright. Jason Mamoa I thought did a good job. I felt it needed a better director, script, and score. Its one of those films that for me will be more enjoyable at home as a guilty pleasure. I would like to see jason mamoa back as conan under better direction. I give it a 6/10 for now.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

On the contrary, I've seen BOTH the Arnold films and this makes both of them look like a pre-school play. That's how AWESOME it was. Jason Momoa did a FANTASTIC job, and, having recently read the Robert E. Howard Conan stories, this is probably the most faithful adaptation of this character I've seen, right down to some of the dialogue being taken straight out of a few of them! Combine that with INSAINELY awesome action, good character development, and a fun story, and it's a good time for die-hard sword and sorcery fans!

9/10

 

[rogue trooper]

Perhaps it's time they put up a poll to rate the movie, isn't it?

 

[Shawn Wayne]

Conan made 3.7 Mil Fri...Fright Night did even worse

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Nobody was asking for those films in the first place.

Conan looked generic as hell and Fright Night has boxoffice poision Colin Ferrell.

 

[rogue trooper]

Oh, well. At least we got a very enjoyable Conan film. One that, speaking for myself, will always enjoy watching more than Arnold's on dvd.

At least there's still Robert Rodriguez' "Fire and Ice" to look foreward to.

 

[Shon]

I'm about to watch some Conan the Adventurer cartoons online to get me hyped up. Not the Arnie movies, those have just become too inaccurate for me.

lol - and the cartoons are not? Wait till you see the new movie and then talk about accuracy. Not a bad movie but also an interpretation.

 

[Shon]

Really? I've heard many good things about Cowboys from friends, reviewers and one reviewer friend :P

It was good, just not what I heard it was hyped to be and had a several gaping holes in it. D Craig was awesome, h Ford was simply mediocre like he usually is these days. Not a bad film just not worth box office money. Take your ticket, your dates plus whatever concessions you buy and you are dropping 30 bucks. If you just buy your ticket then no big deal!

This doesn't worry me much. Look at the grade "Rambo"(2008) and "Underworld:Evolution" have at RT. Yet, audiences didn't care and enjoyed them and did good. Also, way back, when "Death Wish" first came out, it had mixed to negative reviews, yet, that didn't get in the way of being a big draw.

I have not seen Rambo score, was it low? That movie ripped it up! Evolution on the other hand, left something to be desired.

 

[Shon]

This movie was decent. Every character was very forgettable, the story was not very good but the action was pretty awesome and visceral. The only reason this movie works in my opinion is Jason Mamoa. He is a great Conan and I really hope they do a good sequel with him because I want to see more.

I agree, Momoa was good but he could have used another 8 or 9 pounds of hard muscle. I don't want to give anything away for those who have not seen it and I do not know how to do spoiler tags.

The movie was not bad, but the script and direction could use some major improvement.

3D was not done well at all, you can see shadows in several scenes (where the characters walking were being shadowed by themselves in the different color) and whenever the text was on screen it did not look right. Maybe it was the print I saw, but it seems the 3d was off.

Once it has been out a few weeks and everyone has seen it, more open discussion. I hope it makes money and we can get more movies - less crammed into one. I for one would love to have more Hyborian Age adventures.

 

[Shon]

Since I don't want to read you whole "spoilered" post, let me see if this is what you said; you were basically dissapointed because the movie did not follow the story of the 1982 film? Is that correct? If so, that's actually quite good to hear!!

It actually copies a ton of elements from the 1982 film - down to the riddle of steel.

 

[rogue trooper]

I have not seen Rambo score, was it low? That movie ripped it up! Evolution on the other hand, left something to be desired.

It currently holds 36% on RT.

 

[rogue trooper]

It actually copies a ton of elements from the 1982 film - down to the riddle of steel.

Mostly the begining. After that, very few parallels I noticed.

 

[Shon]

Mostly the begining. After that, very few parallels.

The entire plot, seeks revenge on the guy who killed his father, killed his people. His whole motivation for the entire movie is the same as the 82 film.

The "father's sword" as a motivation and basic design of the blade - same as first film.

That right there sums up the entire movie and the rest if filler. You can have different adventures off of that but the plot is the same.

 

[rogue trooper]

Yeah, the plot is basically the same, but the structure of adventure is different.

 

[Iron_Stark]

I can understand Apes beating this, but losing to Spy Kids ans The Help? Really? Really?

One, a sequel to a franchise that should've been dead a years ago staring talentless Alba and another movie that looks and probably is stupid as hell staring a bunch of nobodies?

The hell is wrong with America? They make garbage like those two movies and rancid crap like Fast 5 money, yet this probably won't get its money back?

Smh

 

[PunisherPoster]

Aye, you did cite the RT score amongst the plethora of good reviews of course, but there was also talk of these 'highbrow' or 'mianstream' critics, being snobby about such flicks, as if to dismiss the bad reviews.

True, but do you really think that's an unusual reaction among genre lovers? How many fans typically expect critics to simply disregard the latest horror, sci-fi, or action film even before they view it?

There's also a certain degree of hypocrisy that goes along with it, which is primarily what was being highlighted in this thread. Many critics flatly admitted the movie was fun, entertaining, or that they felt guilty for enjoying it so much, yet still went on to give the film a negative recommendation. At what point does it become less important to grade a genre film on a technical level and start judging it based on what it attempts to do?

I'm afraid you're simply seeing a conspiracy or argument where there is none. I can't speak for what occurred on a separate forum, but judging by the responses here, this doesn't appear to be a crowd likely to be swayed by what critics think. Most of them appeared to have already made up their mind about this film and I don't think sharing the more entertaining reviews (by those that clearly 'got' the film) performed any disservice.

It clearly didn't do have any impact on whether or not the film was successful at the box office, or in the eyes of the public at large. So "freedom of press" is very much still at work.

 

[C. Lee]

I can understand Apes beating this, but losing to Spy Kids ans The Help? Really? Really?

One, a sequel to a franchise that should've been dead a years ago staring talentless Alba and another movie that looks and probably is stupid as hell staring a bunch of nobodies?

The hell is wrong with America? They make garbage like those two movies and rancid crap like Fast 5 money, yet this probably won't get its money back?

Smh

I love Conan...but I understand it not doing better at the box office. It's an R rated sword and sorcery picture...that cuts down the audience.

Spy Kids is a proven kids favorite and it's the fanboys who can't stand Alba for some reason. Other people like her.

THE HELP is a movie from a best selling book that speaks to many across the nation about the treatment of women and minorities...I know that doesn't fit into what teenagers on comic book websites think people should watch...but that's the thing they tend to forget....it's a diverse world out there.

 

[PunisherPoster]

The hell is wrong with America? They make garbage like those two movies and rancid crap like Fast 5 money, yet this probably won't get its money back?

It's both disappointing and frustrating.

This is especially true when you consider how many recent films were equally bad in terms of critical reviews, yet still managed to open with at least $20-40 million. I mean, Final Destination FIVE just opened last week!

There's no shortage of shallow, poorly-reviewed films that are torn apart online but go on to be successful at the box office. Look at how the "terrible" movies Conan was compared to (ie. Prince of Persia; Scorpion King; Clash of the Titans) all made decent money on opening weekend.

You'd think a series of violent Conan films would be ideally suited to today's audiences, but obviously not. What's even more depressing is that you can't fault the $80 budget. This is a film that would've tanked even with half that amount.

 

[Liam_H]

^Those three films your comparing it to is kind of unfair since it was never going to get that kind of money.

 

[nocomics]

The movie wasn't bad,but it had alot to be desired imo. Not even comparing to the Arnold version, its a genre that don't seem to appeal to a broad audience, and maybe the R rating hurt it?
I think for me the best parts of the movie were the sword fighting sequences as I thought they were well done, I did like the double sword,thought that was awesome(was another movie along time ago that a double blade that shot out? Sword and Sorcery?).
Its a movie I'd probably like better when it comes out on Blu-ray, than I did on the big screen.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

For the people who've seen it, would you agree with the general consensus that it's still one of the best 'sword n sandal' action movies in the last few years?