Conan the Barbara (2011)

Directed by: Marcus Nispel | 118 minutes | action, adventure, fantasy | Actors: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ron Perlman, Leo Howard, Steven O’Donnell, Raad Rawi, Nonso Anozie, Bob Sapp, Milton Welsh, Katarzyna Wolejnio, Bashar Rahal, Raw Leiba

In the eighties he was played by a bonk of muscle with an Austrian accent, in 2011 a slightly less pumped-up – but no less imposing – actor gives shape to Conan the Barbarian. After his performance as Khal Drogo in the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’, Jason Momoa’s career has taken off. With Conan the Barbarian, the Hawaiian snack has landed its first major movie role, and a career as an action hero is on the horizon. But then ‘Conan 3D’ has to be a blockbuster of course.

In the prologue, young Conan (Leo Howard) witnesses the murder of his father, chieftain Corin (Ron Perlman). The main culprit is Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), a cruel ruler who, along with his daughter (Rose McGowan), search for fragments of a bone mask that will allow him to resurrect his dead wife, a powerful sorceress. Conan’s father stands in the way and therefore has to clear the field. As a grown man, Conan (Momoa) wants only one thing: to take revenge on Zym and his henchmen and prevent them from carrying out their plans. On his quest, the Cimmerian warrior encounters Tamara (Rachel Nichols), a beautiful young woman whose blood is the last missing ingredient for Zym’s death ritual.

‘Conan the Barbarian’ can be summed up in one sentence: warrior moves from set to set and smashes things to pieces. These are golden times for gravediggers and carpenters, but as a moviegoer you wish director Marcus Nispel had set aside a little more time for character development. After two hours you’re pretty much smashed. In addition, the fight scenes are not very innovative and hardly make use of the possibilities that 3D offers. Furthermore, the acting is mediocre and it just doesn’t want to spark between Momoa and love interest Nichols. Momoa, with his long mane and chiseled chest, looks like Conan the Chippendale and is not unkind as a man of much violence and few words, but was more appropriate in ‘Game of Thrones’. Only fun for fans of campy dialogues and mindless hacking and smashing.