What went wrong with Jason Momoa’s Conan The Barbarian (2011)

[@markstirton]

Decades between Conan movies and they still end up with some guy writing it on-set between scenes.

[@normdeeploom5945]

Conan the Barbarian was a near perfect movie. As a kid I loved the swords and magic. As an adult I love the music, pacing, cinematography and the script. There’s barely a water word to remove. It was a show don’t tell movie. A fantasy movie that didn’t need to be 95% CGI - special effects. I would watch and rewatch the Barbie movie if they made it as well as Conan the Barbarian.

[@pkeod]

That interview pushed me to finally read the original unedited Conan stories and I am blown away. Not only are they great, greater than any Conan media made since, but it's obvious how much they inspired so much of fiction that followed it. Everything old is new again, and again and again.

[@vonfaustien3957]

With the sole exception of Tolkien himself Robert E Howards books and short stories are probably the single most influential fantasy works of all time

[@campbell8260]

The source material is beautiful, poetic and philosophical. This movie was none of those things.

[@patwest1815]

More like exotic, dynamic and without remorse.

[@calebwoods9029]

@@patwest1815 More like all 6. Robert E. Howard was such a talented and original writer, RIP.

[@patwest1815]

@@calebwoods9029 I'll give you that. I'm only familiar with his Conan and Cormac mac Art work.

[@ShaNagmaImmuru]

I am currently reading all the original books and it's all that and even more.

[@eane4762]

Vin Diesel as Conan proves none of these people should be near anything CONAN. The movie stunk. Mamoa might be the right guy but he was not in this movie. Conan novels and Savage sword of Conan comics offer all you need to tell the story.

[@LoneCloudHopper]

Hollywood writers are certainly not on Robert E. Howard's level lol Nowhere near it.

[@fnordiumendures138]

I don't get the sense that Vin Diesel was ever a serious candidate. You heard it: they needed a star to get the project going. Enter the name of an affordable, probable star.

[@eane4762]

@@LoneCloudHopper Agreed. I also believe no one studies established materials to give them the best understanding of Conan.

[@LoneCloudHopper]

@@eane4762 That seems to be the case with many franchises these days. If only Hollywood valued good writers.

[@LoneCloudHopper]

I mean, a professional writer studies the source material and takes it seriously. Hacks don't care.

[@adalbertocruz5316]

For what it was, it was entertaining enough and no need to say about Momoa's charisma with is appealing to everyone, But let's face it, The original movie with its tone and style of storytelling, along with Arnold's presence makes the film a modern classic which it still resonates with the fans to this day, And that's a hard act to follow. Perhaps it wasn't still the right time to remake it, just saying.

[@darkwoods1954]

I don't get Momoa's appeal at all. Other than to people who think he looks hot. I don't find him charismatic at all beyond a bro stereotype.

[@Dehumanizer3000]

I hope the Netflix series sticks to Robert E Howard's version of Conan

[@happyhammer1]

I do not trust Netflix. I am also assuming the Amazon Lord of the Rings prequel series will be woke trash. Obviously, I hope I am wrong.

[@happyhammer1]

@Dr. Jimmy_Rustle yep

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

It won't, it will be some woke shit.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

@@happyhammer1 Yeah, me too, but I'm almost certain our hopes are groundless.

[@planetschlock]

I can't imagine still having faith in any Hollywood or streaming service adaptation, let alone Netflix but you do you I guess.

[@IM-xs3uv]

I watched Conan 2011. I remembered Conan 1982, thought of King Conan and what could have been. And I wept.

[@Corehaven22]

The thing about this movie that ruins it for me, is when they're out on the boat at sea. Then they get attacked. The attackers come from literally nowhere there's no other boat and they are at sea. Men start boarding the ship and they are coming from no place. You can even see around the ship in these scenes and there's just their ship and water out there with men yelling and coming aboard. I can't. I just can't.

[@MCharlerySmith]

Wow. That's bad.

[@moomcmoosson1992]

If thats not bad enough, the scene changes from dark to daylight from one moment to another.

[@myzeromacadamia9705]

There was a few seconds of an establishing shot of a ship approaching while they were asleep. But it miraculously disappeared during the attack. I just want to think that it was on the other side of Conan's ship, off-cam

[@MrShiftey13]

@@myzeromacadamia9705 it was an Uber ship. It left to pick u some more bad guys.

[@jamealjordon1376]

Conan The Barbarian (1982) is, in a word, iconic. Primal, mythical, powerful, they just don't make movies like that anymore. This is why any follow up WILL FAIL.

[@vinweasel6169]

Might not be a popular opinion but I think Jason Momoa was a brilliant Conan, shame the story didn't do him justice, but I still like the movie.

[@rydz656]

He had a baby face how was that good for conan?

[@branmakmorn]

If he had a better script.

[@georgearnold841]

@@rydz656 mamoa a baby face? Do you even know what a baby face is?

[@jasongarcia1886]

Same

[@timothysayers6969]

I agree, Momoa performed the role much truer to Howard's intent than Schwarzenegger did

[@azielleonmontes5495]

- Conan, what is best in life?: - To crush the remake, see it driven before you and hear the lamentations of the producers.....-

[@kingdom70x7ministries]

Lol cracked up

[@sankharaYT]

The Malmberg interview is really awesome stuff you don't get on other channels. Chapeau, Andre! And now I'll go cry in a corner about the KING CONAN movie we'll never get. :(

[@Elric70]

When you are trying to reboot Conan the Barbarian, a movie that had an amazing score and you roll up with the snoozefest they had for music, you're already in trouble!

[@redcat9436]

As a fan of Robert Howard and the original Schwarzenegger films I didn't have any interest in this one. I still don't. Eight months to write a script that was rewritten on set ? It took Howard a matter of days to write these stories.

[@Veldtian1]

That's because the Atlantean warrior projecting his tale through Howard detailing his saga from the Hyperborean Age was dictating to him and Howard dare not make a mistake lol.

[@planetschlock]

It took them eight months to write a shit script and then found the time to make it even worse. What a perfect microcosm of everything that sucks about Hollywood movies.

[@Kainis80]

The movie we got was the equivalent to a Twitter fanfic.

[@Hurmeri]

"It took Howard a matter of days to write these stories." That's more of an indictment on the author than you probably want to admit. If movies or TV shows were as simple as typing out a script, they could be churned out in a a few days.... and then the audience could finish them in a matter of minutes. Weird how movies, even bad ones, instead need months to film and usually a good 1.5 - 2 hours to watch.

[@concernedcitizen6924]

@@Veldtian1 Looming behind him watching over his shoulder, threatening axe edge glinting in the scant light.

[@AJM01]

I knew as soon as it was announced that it would be a bad idea! The original is a masterpiece the score is perfection and the casting choices are sublime. I could literally keep singing its praises but that should suffice.

[@michaelwills1926]

The OG film is perfection; stoic lead, mondo production design. The reboot seems confused and pointlessly loud by comparison and mamoa’s Conan talks too much.

[@Theomite]

The OG film looks like Frazetta come to life. Exactly what a Conan movie should be.

[@fierro7771]

That bugged me too. His yapping . Takes away any kind of mystery or mystique when someone's yapping so much. Physically I thought he looked perfect

[@TheMountainBeyondTheWoods]

I like Schwarzenegger's movies and all but they were not perfection, far from it, Schwarzenegger's Conan is nothing like the real Conan.

[@skottlee8959]

Mamoa's Conan is more true to the character than Arnie's.

[@rmmj7james293]

When Conan was a kid, that was was awesome. It seemed to then morph into something like the "Scorpion King" action comedy

[@matthewjacobs5507]

I grew up reading the novels as well as the comics and early on learned to lower my expectations. The Schwarzenegger films suffered from a lack of familiarity with the source material (especially the Robert E. Howard novels) as well as a poor attempt at meshing the comics and the novels resulting in some disjointed story development. The Momoa iteration suffered purely from the focus on spectacle vs story/ character development. But... Vin Diesel? Really. I enjoyed the Riddick movies but Conan was written as more than than a simple force of nature. He was also a tactician and diplomat. Yeah he smashed the hell out stuff but on several occasions he outsmarted his foes as well.

[@donnhall9800]

I''ve been reading REH since a young boy and I loved the first movie - This movie was not hurt by Mamoa's performance - he did an excellent job and I thihnk he should continue to play Conan. - It was an over the top story that did this movie in - why mess with what the master wrote?

[@TheMountainBeyondTheWoods]

I disagree, Momoa is a terrible Conan, why people still like him baffles me.

[@drakeloki4214]

Considering I didn't know that this was a thing I'm going to guess marketing with one of the issues

[@Frazoor]

I didn't even know this film existed.

[@planetschlock]

Consider yourself lucky.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

I knew there was a Conan film but did not know why Jason Mamoa was picked. 90% of the 🎬 public associate Arnold Schwartznegger as that role.

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Lucky!

[@stan8ify]

You missed nothing…

[@TNHFPRODUCTIONS987]

I don’t care what critics and reviews say I love Jason Momoa as Conan the Barbadian I do however feel the movie would have worked better as a series the problem with movie it was too rushed and self contained. Well Jason went from the King of Cimmerian to King of Atlantis

[@ryangunwitch-black]

I'm surprised they didn't give Conan a magic sword. Cuz you know how much Conan loves magic.

[@Conan_the_Based]

I *sort of* liked this Conan movie. On one hand, I appreciate that they tried to stay true to the original Robert E Howard Conan. On the other hand, they couldn't help themselves and just made a by-the-numbers fantasy schlock movie. Completely forgettable, and definitely not enough to kickstart a franchise.

[@norbnar7197]

Sadly, it just felt like a bunch of noise. And the director wasn't keen on the idea of a sorcerer who could just turn you into a toad cuz how can Conan fight that? But those white sandy dudes comin' out of the ground was just forgettable and uninspiring. And the tentacle monster? Ugh, PLEASE that is SO forgettable. It didn't have a classic scary Conan monster that takes all of his wits and strength to kill.

[@Whalewraith]

Always enjoy your Conan stuff.

[@cruzgallegos5071]

Hopefully someone steps forward and finally decides to do a 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos transfer from the original Conan the Barbarian from 1982.

[@happyhammer1]

After watching your guys _King of all things Conan_ video I rewatched it and it isn't as bad as I remember, and is a better adaptation of Robert Howard's visions. Despite that I still like the Arnold Conan better and I attribute that to nostalgia, good writing/directing and one of the best scores in cinematic history imo.

[@robertpaulson5220]

On a scale of 1-10 how high and drunk were you when you re-watched this dumpster fire?

[@thebarbariansasquatch8108]

Does anyone else remember what the villain's last line to Conan is? "I DON'T LIEK U ANYMOAR!" 😂 omfg this movie

[@paulcoy9060]

It was about an hour and twenty minutes into the film when I said, "Hey, I know that guy, he's from Stargate Atlantis!" And then I thought about how much better his character was written on Stargate Atlantis, and I got sad.

[@boulderbash19700209]

Wait .. you haven't seen him in Game of Thrones? It was released a few month before and Momoa was praised for his role there.

[@paulcoy9060]

@@boulderbash19700209 I didn't have HBO. I have seen him since, and thought he was cool.

[@kreaturekie6753]

Because Atlanta's is the weakest stargate

[@paulcoy9060]

@@kreaturekie6753 (SG Universe has entered the chat)

[@stoltobot]

Basically it was lacking the star of Conan, Arnold Schwarzenegger

[@charlespuruncajas9663]

I think Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones was basically how Conan the Barbarian should have been (of course not so Edgy), rather than the “Hercules” style they went with

[@grayscribe1342]

Yes, he knows his Howard. Which was a problem for me. If I catch myself wanting to know the story of how Conan and another character originally met, thats not a good thing for this story/movie. And that's on top of the other problems. My biggest question was, why another revenge story? Why not tell the original story? Why not show how Aquilona pushes into Cimmeria, how they destroy a few Cimmerian tribes, how the other tribes gather and have the movie end with the attack on Venarium? Conan cold discover the aftermath of a battle and a dead friend, maybe a love interest that got enslaved that gets him personally involved in the attack. How the tribes gather and have him discover the cool stuff civilization has to offer like silk or their art and it makes him curious for more and how he sets out to see more.

[@rengarcia5189]

Well, guys, I actually liked Momonan. I think Stephen Lang was actually a pretty good villain. I think it's biggest drawbacks were a slow beginning and a humdrum musical score.

[@boulderbash19700209]

No beard.

[@wmmott]

Someone needs to actually read the Conan stories as written by Howard. His Cimmerians were "proto" or ancestral Gaels/Celts, as his "The Hyborian Age" essay indicates. Think of Conan as a big Scotsman with black hair and more or less looking somewhat like a larger Gerard Butler or Karl Urban , and you'll have the right idea that matches the original writer's description. The late Clint Walker fit the description perfectly (see his fight scene in "Yellowstone Kelly", which is probably still on KZbin). Conan was not a bodybuilder, nor was he a Momoa or Vin Diesel. Not by a long stretch. Frazetta and Buscema's artwork are very close to the actual character description. Neal Adams' Conan was also very close: tall, powerful, yet rangy. Apparently the "owners" of the property and the film makers just don't get it. Milius' first film was a good effort, but the essence of the character's personality was missing, and the character did not really look the part. Momoa did do a better job of capturing the personality of the character, but the film, overall, was terrible. The ubiquitous Ron Perlman was totally miscast. Netflix will butcher the character even further, no doubt.

[@wmmott]

Here's the kind of intensity and physicality that should have been Conan, on the screen. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eV6UlHiwptlmZ7M

[@ratphynqer]

I like Momoa but his Conan came off like a dude-bro Arnie's version was intense and clearly driven by the pain of his past.

[@MrOrcshaman]

That is sadly Momoas character in most things. Hes a super nice guy but he can't seem to do much outside of his dude-bro self, which works for several roles well but sadly typecasts him. Certainly makes one realise the range Schwarzenegger had back then.

[@Cancoillotteman]

@@MrOrcshaman Surprisingly Kaal Drogo had none of the Dude-bro attributes, maybe he should look to his beginnings to avoid the type-casting

[@rianjohnsonsux4344]

I agree. Momoa looked like Conan, but he acted like a cocky frat boy. Annoying as fuck. Movie was shit.

[@Kainis80]

@@MrOrcshaman take a look at the show Frontier. Mamoa can pull off a faithful Conan. But he has to actually be written by someone who understands the material and directed by someone who has even heard of R.E. Howard.

[@joesalvator5878]

The original Conan was somewhat of a B movie and cult classic for its time. Especially the second one. Momoa did a good enough job. The remake wasn't terrible.

[@tonygriego6382]

I do not trust Netflix.. it will be a bunch of woke nonsense. Conan deserves better.

[@videoschistosos7077]

Conan will be a black guy and the first scene will be Conan kissing some other dude

[@benbaker6005]

@@videoschistosos7077 And they'll kill him off and some women will pick up his sword and "become" Conan.

[@swanwaffle]

Ben Baker. Well there's talk of the next James Bond being a woman so you never know......what a shambles.!

[@sladeloper7714]

I love Momoa, and was really excited about him as Conan. I'm also a Howard fan, and I think the frantic script is what failed this reboot.

[@daviddiaz529]

A fantasy epic, with Momoa, Dwayne Johnson, and Vin Disel. Kull The Conquerer

[@Mister-Six]

Or Scorpion King 6...

[@Red_Lanterns_Rage]

only if Vin played the villain and says 2 words the whole movie......like fukk you or something Json has to earn Dwayne's trust and at the end when he thinks he has to go it alone Dwayne brings an army to help..... i'd watch that....lolz I'D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR!! lol 😈

[@yaldabaoth2]

Fantasy Avengers? I'm in.

[@MatthiasPowerbomb]

As a lifelong fan of the Ahnold Conan, I went into this really hoping to like it. I obviously would've preferred the King Conan us Ahnold Conan fans were promised and had been waiting on for 30 years, but I liked Jason Mamoa. He had a good look and the right build and a badass quality that seemed like it could work for Conan, and he was a solid enough actor. Unfortunately the movie didn't really work very well. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. At the end of the day it was just ok, which isn't what you want from a Conan movie, especially after the masterpiece that is Conan the Barbarian (1982).

[@r.blakehole932]

Jason Momoa could have been a perfect Conan. He had a good convincing character on Stargate Atlantis. But, this whole disaster of movie just illustrates that what makes a movie good is NOT actors, but rather the script. I basically slept through this movie. I remember almost none of it. Despite the cheesiness of Schwarzenegger's Conan, I remember more of it than I do of this Momoa Conan. And, it is an insult to Momoa to blame him for the movie but, that is the fate of actors.

[@norbnar7197]

The carriage chase was boring, the white sandy dudes poppin outta the ground were boring, the tentacle monster was boring. Think about all of the crazy looking monsters Conan has killed in his adventures and now you can put one on screen and...it's tentacles.

[@HecmarJayam]

King Conan should be the utter priority this days. You can do anything else later. Arnold doesnt have much time left to play that role properly.

[@ericvulgate]

mamoa wasn't a terrible conan, he just wasn't arnie.

[@FeebleAntelope]

Also, he was limited by the material he had to work with: the script also wasn't great, iirc

[@carlosdelacadiz6658]

Fans didn't want a young Conan remake, there was no way it was gonna be as good as original. They should have made an original Conan movie where Jason Mamoa was his son and Arnold was older Conan.

[@One-ct3xe]

From laughs at your puny attempt to tell the tale of Conan! Momoa is a choirboy next to Conan! •A Choirboy!•

[@skottlee8959]

This movie is nowhere near as bad as people say. This is coming from a huge fan of all things conan. I didn't realize it was so hated. The story is not amazing but I just look at it like another one of those forgettable novels from after Howard's time. The aesthetic and characters were great.

[@Kings_Gambit]

I kinda liked it :-( I think Momoa was a good choice for the role.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I've enjoyed both the 1982 and 2011 versions of Conan the Barbarian and they're great movies. Jason Momoa was the perfect choice to play Conan and Jason Momoa and Rachel Nichols had good chemistry. I got to meet Jason Momoa in 2013 which he signed a autographed photo of himself as Conan. The movie had non stop action from start to finish. The movie was more true and faithful to the original stories by Robert E. Howard. Good visual effects. It's a shame it didn't get a continuation and I would had liked to had seen more of Jason Momoa as Conan.

[@ViennAnakin]

the answer is simple:Jason is cool-still he is no Schwazenegger...

[@edenromanov]

It helped him become cooler but replacing Arnold was never going to be an easy task unfortunately Jason wasn’t up for it at the time.....now however I think he’s got the perfect physique and even superior acting chops for the role

[@MrOrcshaman]

I'm of the mind that Jason would be a perfect Lobo, but since hes Aquaman he can't play 2 roles from the same brand setting. Then again, they did it for human torch and captain America, soooooo..

[@icewendigo2320]

I disagree, Jason would be a great Conan if the movie had a good script true to the Robert E Howard scouce material and a great director. The 80s Conan was a masterpiece but the character was good but not exactly how Conan is described in the stories, yes Conan is very strong, but also panther like, stealthy, cunning, leader of men, a good script and a good director are required for these to come to life in a movie.

[@willd3rbeast]

Reboots of 80s action movies always fail. Conan Robocop Total recall Predator All total failures

[@mlang28]

facts!!!

[@planetschlock]

I remember really wanting to like this movie as I was at the peak of my Robert E Howard fandom and even considered writing my college thesis about him at one point. But the movie just completely fell apart for me and was a rough watch overall. I can see why it was such a box office mega-bomb.

[@ToddProductions1925]

Jason was great as Conan, finally someone who can embody the character. It was dark, closer to the comic and highly well done People thought it would be King Conan, nope. Giant fans of the comic know Conan is not PG at all, he's a savage trying to defend his land. As of Arnold's version it's PG, not dark, not bloody that upset me back then.

[@sitoudien9816]

Felt like a cheap direct to video movie.

[@Doctor-Stoppage]

They definitely had the money. The money was there. The actors were there. Half the script was decent but the other half was awful. With over 90 years worth of Conan stories they could have thrown together a killer movie if they took parts of a couple Howard stories and a couple comic books. Zimm was a decent antagonist but to finish the movie Conan needed a bigger/more powerful opponent. The only monster we got was the lame Kraken for the billionth time. If you don't count the dog man guy with no explanation and for some reason Picts seemed to be part animal? I didn't understand that at all.

[@donovanbradford8231]

Nice interview, I have heard the stories that for a few years in the early 2000s there were thoughts about doing a Conan movie and they just never went anywhere. Hearing one of the producers you start to get the idea, this was driven by the producers alone and that is never good. It is always better to at least have a script in place before the rest. At least a script can be shown to a director and a possible lead to then champion the movie forward. If you don't have that you end with a movie that had a few good things about it and that's all.

[@MidnightsEdge]

Be sure to check out the full interview, where he actually breaks down all the attempted versions that never went anywhere.

[@ovk-ih1zp]

Truly The Reboot wasn't even close to the worst Sword & Sandal movie I ever saw. I would place it VERY Slightly above "Conan the Destroyer", but not in the same galaxy as "Milius's "Conan the Barbarian", which is the BEST "Sword & Sandal" film that came out of the 80's. Momosa, with a good script could BE the next generation Conan, but we will never know now. It will probably take at least another generation before another Conan movie is tried & that will mean never getting to se Arnold do a "King Conan" film.

[@filthycasualmtg4665]

Thanks for this, I've been getting back into Howard and I always felt this movie was almost there, visually at any rate. This explains why it became a more generic fantasy-by-numbers film. I think unless the Director is involved in the process from the very beginning and knows how to tell a story, they should allow the writer's to do so and just direct what is written. Just because you have in mind cool-looking sequences or shots doesn't mean they add to the story. Also the forced faux 3D really ruined parts. Thanks Jim 🙄

[@thomasdevine5202]

Just do a true adaptation of Queen of the black Coast

[@michaelbrashears8293]

I think know if you did King Conan and you brought back Arnold, Jason would be a good bet to play Conan's son

[@paulcoy9060]

Conn? The little kid from "Marvel's King Conan" comics in the 80's? Maybe when he grows up ....

[@michaelbrashears8293]

@@paulcoy9060 Read the books not comics. There is a story that takes place where king conan disappears and his son goes off to find him. Conan's wife takes over ruling Aquilonia. Good story I will say. They could just age Conn. Arnold is the appropriate age this story had conan at. Old and gaunt but still has a look about him that's says don't mess with me.

[@paulcoy9060]

@@michaelbrashears8293 I did read all the books. bought them one summer at a yard sale. Mostly I remember all the breasts. Breasts as far as the eye can see. Every other page, it seemed like.

[@michaelbrashears8293]

@@paulcoy9060 just remember the story with Conn mainly cause like father like son he encounters a woman in a bar. Unfortunately the woman turned out to be a female demon in disguise (for dnd fans a marilith) and Conan ended up saving his son

[@paulcoy9060]

@@michaelbrashears8293 High Armor Class, and good DEX saves.

[@719603]

I'm a long time Conan fan/reader. This movie did not feel like a Conan story and frankly you could have changed the name of the lead character and it wouldn't have matter.

[@lukebatchelor717]

Exactly. I don't care if Conan comes off as an unrealistic figure, the way he was written convinced me 100% that he was a genius tactical barbarian warrior of epic physique and cunning. He is pirate, thief, king, warrior, wanderer, hero, anti-hero, lover, etc. Mamoa is great but he wasn't ready for Conan at the time and the movie itself was disrespectful to the idea. It was just garbage. Nothing like Robert E. Howard's classic stories. The world and so many other things are huge characters, not just Conan, and they deserve so much better. The Arnold version was as close as it has gotten, and though those do come pretty close, it still isn't quite there. Someone as huge as Arnold needs to play Conan, though. Or it just doesn't carry the concept properly.

[@craigjones21]

Some characters perfectly and timelessly expressed by actors who were born to play them, like Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan, Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, Bill Murray's Venkman, Ricardo Montelban's Khan etc. can not and should not be reprised. We don't have a "Mona Lisa: The Sequel" or "Starry Sky: The Reboot". Revere those sacred, perfect moments in human history when irreplaceable art was created.

[@Thumbdumpandthebumpchump]

This is incredibly cringe, and entirely wrong on almost all points.

[@AwareWolfOnWheels]

Well for a start, Jason Mamosa!

[@carlosenriquez2092]

Sad to realize today that a Conan movie was made and it was so poorly recieved I didn't even know till just now.

[@nolanolivier6791]

I don't expect anyone to have enjoyed the Momoa film, but I was happy to see a Conan that more-or-less resembled Howard's description. As much as I do appreciate John Milius' contribution, it was almost a separate creation. Doubtless the better film, nevetheless.

[@freddiestinson1117]

For me the movie started off ok but about halfway thru the movie lost its way.

[@myzeromacadamia9705]

So basically what this video is saying that it was the director and the script-- the brain and heart of the production. There is a ton of material. I wish they had just hired writers who were good at writing adapted screenplays. Dark Horse comics did an excellent job by hiring Kurt Busiek in writing the Conan saga chronologically. I hope they get him as consultant if they ever make another film. As for the director, I 'm sure he did his best. The shots and art direction were amazing. I was also hoping this video would talk about the cast. Mickey Rourke was originally casted as Corin. He would have been physically imposing as Conan's father. Or maybe put Ron Pearlman in his Hellboy muscle suit, but in flesh-tone. Jason Momoa was better as Khal Drogo, partly because he only speaks Dothraki. Conan's contemporary American dialogue totally threw me off, as he was often described in the books as having a thick accent (which makes me miss Schwartzeneger's Conan more). Jason's Conan may have been more civilized than savage, but he definitely was a more convincing warrior and swordsman.

[@atragonx7939]

I liked this movie, and I liked Momoa as Conan. It felt more like Howard's character than the Arnold movies did. I have zero hopes for Conan in the WOKE era we are in now. I think the character should be left alone until western culture rights itself again- if it ever does.

[@timothysayers6969]

It may happen sooner than you think. Western culture righting itself I mean

[@Kainis80]

@@timothysayers6969 our hopes hinge on Gen Z. Far better than millennials, but then they shoved that bar pretty low.

[@wellenberger]

I liked this movie a lot. I also like the 1982 movie, but I thought this movie showed a more true version of the Conan character. This movie showed the dexterity and nimbleness of Conan, which was really shown in the fight scene at the outpost. That battle showed him climbing effortlessly up the scaffolding, which is not something that was shown in the 1982 movie.

[@paulpagani182]

Never remake any Arnold movies again .

[@gojira4444]

Remember, we are getting a Commando Remake

[@gojira4444]

@patrick henry Its been in development hell for a while now, but that hasnt stopped bad ideas before.

[@thestoicsoliloquies4041]

@@gojira4444 Please don't let it be his daughter rescuing him this time.

[@darkwoods1954]

It was such a dull movie. No flare or charisma at all. Other than women finding him attractive, I still don't understand the appeal of Jason Momoa.

[@christinemusselman5499]

Well, women comprise 50% of the population so even if it's only sex appeal, which it isn't, that's a lot of people. I'm glad he's doing better things now, because he's capable of it. There were a lot of problems with this movie. Ho-hum script and no real director didn't help.

[@t.r.2283]

It always surprises me when people say you need a script when you just have to make the books / comics. Why do they try to invent something when all we want is a movie version of books and comics. Can't be that hard

[@roguegallery7519]

Vin Diesel as Conan? He couldnt even pull a Deadshot!

[@BigLIII22]

Sucks that we never got a 3rd movie or a part 3 of this ultimate retrospective

[@mechaphoenix6022]

This was very informative.

[@RolandDeschain1]

REH didn't write origin stories, which is one of the reasons why the Dark Agnes story 'Sword Woman' is so interesting; it's an origin story, and a cracking good one at that. Another thing about it is that the second dark Agnes story, 'Blades for France' is a direct sequel to the first, and Howard never really wrote sequels either! I wish he had written a whole series of Dark Agnes stories. He did a partial third story but abandoned it. And it was clear he was already compromising the character by introducing supernatural elements (which I recall Paradox wanted to do with their movie version) and making her more of a damsel in distress.

[@johnnybraccia452]

What went wrong, Mamoa went on a talk show promoting his movie and said, he didn't watch the original. coffin nail.

[@waynepurcell6058]

Shouldn't have been a coffin nail though. He is going to play HIS character (even though the script sucked), not Arnold's. One thing I wish people would lay off of in life is Mamoa's Conan. He looks and feels much more the character that was WRITTEN by Howard and actually has the capacity to pull it off (given a decent story). Howard's Conan isn't some overly muscle bound freak, but a man that is powerful, intelligent, and lithe like a panther. Mamoa fits that ideal MUCH better. He just needs a well written a STORY (with matching script), following the likes of "Hour of the Dragon", "Red Nails", or "Queen of the Black Coast".

[@swanwaffle]

Wayne Purcell. I know this is late but had to say I agree with everything you say here. Mr Momoa was the perfect choice for Conan for all the reasons you stated, he must have been gutted at the poor result of this film. It didn't damage his career but could have.

[@geebards]

It's taken me years to work out why I love the original Conan the Barbarian and felt let down by the other two. The original is a Drama whereas the others are both Action/Fantasy movies.

[@mattikunnas1962]

I always thought it was about as good as the original. But I'm just a casual viewer without nostalgia. I have all three on DVD.

[@themann6669]

Brett Ratner you say?lmfao It would have been worse than the movie we got

[@zootopiawilson]

Part of the problem, IMHO, is that they tried to make a movie "franchise", Conan is sort of a franchise already, but they wanted to make something they could market off of. In other words, make it "kiddie friendly". The first Conan movie...it was not made for kids (though surely kids saw it) and that was the appeal. It didn't follow the original Conan stories faithfully but it had the weight of them. It wasn't made so soccer moms could drop their kids off at a theater. It was different from but faithful enough to the source material.

[@anthonyroundtree5]

I'm only now reading Savage Sword of Conan, then I watched this film with some retrospection and I think this film is actually better than Arnold's. In fact, it's actually a weekend popcorn flick that you can enjoy in the background. One of the reasons I say that is Mamoa's Conan is in many ways a truer Conan. That film is far from perfect, btw. The backstory is unnecessary (but at least they show he was born on the battlefield instead of telling us) and the ending feels as rushed as most of Savage Swords endings, but I've found Mamoa's Conan closer to the Savage Sword incarnation. Looking back at Arnold's Conan, he didn't even speak for the first 30 minutes of the movie. They show when Conan's first time with a woman and it was not very Conan-like.

[@Thumbdumpandthebumpchump]

The issue is that Arnold's Conan is actually a great movie, even if it's off it's meds as an adaptation.

[@TIDbitRETRO]

Jason Mamoa only knows how to play Jason Mamoa. You can dress him up like Conan but that doesn’t mean he played the character. This whole movie is a dumpster fire. Everyone involved with it failed.

[@jheech482]

The 1st Act, especially when young Conan kicks the Raiders asses was absolutely amazing! I wish the rest of the movie was just as captivating! Don’t get me wrong, I liked the movie, I grew up reading the big black & white Conan comics, hell I remember seeing the original in theaters at 11 with my Dad!

[@Wabin22]

I honestly like this movie and I cant understand all the hate. It got Conan more right than any of the previous movies, even Roy Thomas said it allthough he didn't like it.

[@patwest1815]

They nailed Conan's personality and physicality. The first scene with the kid is very much in keeping with the true Conan.

[@planetdisco4821]

This is so weird. I literally watched the 1982 Arnie version last weekend for the first time in about 20 years and it is still amazing. They need to stick. To the RobertE Howard novels and stop trying to reboot it for modern times. Conan is the ultimate alpha male and they can’t crap. Out on this...

[@heman691]

Probably what went wrong was we are still all waiting for Arnold to do another one.

[@thanksfernuthin]

What makes Conan unique? That's what you need to focus on. How is he different than men today? He was barely more than an animal. Powerful. Canny. A survivor. He should have been someone that would slightly stun people with his actions. Hints of civilization only showing up infrequently. Tell the story of THAT man. [edit:] Arnold's older, wiser Conan would be different. But as a young man he should be absolutely savage.

[@vonfaustien3957]

For example the Phoenix on the sword has a coup atempt on conan get onterupted by a lovecraftian eldritch horror the more civilized nobels are all driven mad and die at the sight of something that shouldn't exist. well conan bing a primitive barbarian lacks the intellectual understanding of the more civilized cultures reacts acourding to the animalistic fight or flight response and stabs the demon in yhe face with his broken sword.

[@ok2313]

Jason Momoa should have a second chance as Conan the Barbarian ,his perfect for the role.

[@Cynfulbrew82]

I personally prefer the Mamoa Conan movie. The kid at the beginning played the character perfectly, plus they didn’t try to make it that Conan spent however long the Arnold Conan spent as a slave. Mamoa also fought more like I would picture Conan fighting. His movements looked smooth like a jungle cat, where as Arnold just seemed lumbering. Respectfully disagree agree but I would personally like to see more Conan with Mamoa.

[@jokester3076]

They should’ve made king Conan with Schwarzenegger back, Jason Momoa could’ve played his son.

[@weirdshibainu]

If done correctly, that could have been a good movie

[@Kit-Katts]

If you play the Conan drinking game it's a great movie... Drinking Game Rules : Anytime anyone on screen yells 'AAARHHH!' you take a shot... A highly recommended evening with friends.

[@Geek_Speak_Gaming]

I enjoyed Momoa in the role, and I think the look of the film was spot on. That said, the pacing was all over the place and the story was just so boring. Take an actual Howard story, or one from the comics at least. I actually think they should use Momoa for the Netflix series.

[@AlbertoRodriguez-zb3iu]

"Aficionado" that's the word to describe this film.

[@danahousley-preaster2865]

Mamonan was fine..looked like comic Conan. I was very happy with his look. The rest of the movie stunk. After the original. His origin should have never been touched. The original Conan movies beginning will always be stuck in ppls head. The only way to change that would be to follow Robert E Howards first book to the letter. And let the movie be about his early years leavin his family

[@hamuArt]

Writing a script for a year to end up in the bin, then writing the script as soon as possible before shooting.... Sounds very efficient and professional.

[@edwardjohnson6744]

Simple answer, had it come out today it would be a hit. Jason Momoa is "over" with the fans now, to use a professional wrestling term. He wasn't yet then who he is today.

[@darkwoods1954]

That wouldn't make the actual movie any better though.

[@edwardjohnson6744]

@@darkwoods1954 - But more people would have watched it. Hands down.

[@Hybris51129]

The movie wasn't great but compared to a lot of movies especial as far as reboots and the like its quite watchable so long as you keep it within its own box outside of the original movies and books. Also I love the delivery of one of Conan's lines at the start of the final fight. "I've come for the woman, and your head.".

[@vonfaustien3957]

I still want a faithfull movie version of the hour of the dragon

[@jaeger4540]

Sorry for the necro comment but just recently found your channel... It amazes me that as risk-adverse as these studios act (Must have a name director or star for anything!) They then let the director make wide sweeping changes to the scrip that they all initially agreed to put money behind! WTF!? Why does this go on so much in hollywood? This is not the only instance of this happening. And as far as I can tell, massive re-writes/changes during filming have always ended badly for the movie. Yet it continues to happen... Any chance of doing a video/episode on why movie companies keep doing this? The studios act very risk adverse when "greenlighting" a project. But when they finally do it seems they then have no problem allowing whomever is in charge to screw it up. Mindbottleing... As often as they have thrown good money after bad it is very hard to take studio heads seriously when they cry about how hard it is to fund commercial entertainment IP like Conan. It seems William Goldman was right...