“Conan the Barbarian” is a remake that of the iconic 1980s film that made use of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s muscles to their best advantage, but it would seem that this 2011 version starting Jason Momoa doesn’t have the charm the original did.
The film has been given a sad rating of 24% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience was kinder but not by much, giving the film a 47%. Here’s what the critics had to say:
“The screenplay is where ‘Conan the Barbarian’ stumbles its most mightily. For a movie of this sort to work, it needs scope, but there’s nothing here for the viewer to latch onto. The characters are lifeless types. There’s no emotion or passion. Conan’s father dies in front of his eyes, yet we feel nothing.”–James Berardinelli, ReelViews
“It’s really something when you can’t match the 1982 version of ‘Conan’ for story complexity and cleverness, but here we are. ‘Conan the Barbarian’ features decent action, but it’s action completely lacking in context. The plot has no real logic, and none of the actors seem to be on the same page.”–Laremy Legel, Film.com
“Typically, then, this remake is shot in 3D. Typically too, the extra dimension is gratuitous at best and annoying the rest of the time. The strong temptation is to chuck the damn glasses and just go blurry.”–Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail
What do you think about the film? Do you agree with the critics? Sound off below.
