Conan the Barbarian movie review

Conan the Barbarian-this movie begins in the cold mountains of Cimmeria, home of fierce northern warrior tribes. A master blacksmith and sword maker, we see Conan's father casting a sword and sculpting it's pommel. A very young Conan watches with patience and eager anticipation to see his father finish his sword. Later Conan and his father sit atop a mountain with the finished sword. Conan's father tells Conan about the Riddle of Steel. He tells Conan at how gods and giants once roamed the earth, and battled over it's ownership. In the midst of their rage, the giants and gods had forgotten the power of steel. And those who found it again, were just men.

This part of the story, I can go along with, for little is known about Conan's youth. The scenery is magnificent, it looks very grim and gray, just as it is supposed to in Cimmeria.

Next we find Conan's village under attack-his father is killed and his mother is beheaded. We are introduced to Thorgrim and Rexor, two thugs ruled by Thulsa-Doom. It is at this point that the movie writers are beginning to lay down the ground work for a revengeful Conan. Sold to slavery, Conan is led to the Vanir, who begin his physical training. Conan spends the rest of his childhood chained to the Wheel of Pain. Again, I have to keep in mind that this movie is an adaptation of several of Robert E Howard's stories and an amalgam of others. Conan was never a slave, and as far as his mother and father are concerned, who knows what fate they met?

The rest of the movie centers around Conan's desire to obtain revenge on Thulsa Doom. And in the end, Conan gets it. I will not bash this movie, for the production of it back in the 80's was gargantuan. You have a star cast, a fierce warrior and a movie script that would definitely sell tickets. Looking back at the movie I have to remember to compare apples to apples. Thousands of REH fans would love to have written the script for the movie, and kept the Robert E Howard feel to the character. Without making it a 4 hour movie, I am not sure it would have been entirely possible to do this. If you take the same cast from Conan the Barbarian and make that movie today, you would see a mind blowing gut-wrenching movie.

In particular, my favorite part of the movie takes place inside of The Mountain of Power. Conan, Valeria and Subotai slip inside of a cave from a gorge and gain entry into the mountain. All three have smeared soot and oils on them for camouflage, crouching like tigers in the shadows. When the battle begins, Conan wreaks havoc in the crowd. Rexor and Thorgrim enter the scene and the three face off and Conan escapes with the King Osric's daughter.

That's all for now on this movie!