Raised by his father (Ron Perlman) to become a warrior, Conan (played as a youngster by Leo Howard) witnesses his death when the warlord Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang) raids their village looking for the final piece of a relic that will resurrect his dead wife. However, before he can perform the necessary ritual, Khalar must find another pureblood to sacrifice in her place. After two decades of searching, he locates the last of their kind, a naïve monk named Tamara (Rachel Nichols), hidden away in a monastery. Conan (now a grown man played by Jason Momoa) has been hunting for Khalar all these years. When Conan learns of Khalar’s plan, he kidnaps Tamara to use as bait in order to exact his brand of revenge.
The casting of Jason Momoa was a great choice. Arguably, a better choice than Schwarzenegger ever was, and he is able to deliver dialogue more convincingly; unfortunately, when he does speak, its idiotic one-liners like, “I live, I love, I slay… and I am content.” Conan simply isn’t a very likable or engaging character. The screenplay is where Conan the Barbarian stumbles mightily. For a film of this type to work, it needs range, but there’s nothing here for the viewer to really latch on to. The characters show no real emotion, or exhibit any passion. Conan’s father dies right in front of him, but nothing stirs. For all its faults, the 1982 Conan the Barbarian was expert at eliciting emotions—from the butchering of Conan’s village to the death of Valeria to the final confrontation with Thulsa Doom. Here, things are dull; other than Momoa it often feels like the actors are just going through the motions, hindered by a paint-by-numbers script.
Presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer looks fantastic. Colors pop really well and the crimson reds of the copious blood look fantastically robust and well saturated. Fine detail is excellent throughout, and there is no artifacting to speak of. CGI elements are blended seamlessly into the live action elements and the green screen elements are also very well woven into the visual texture of the film.
Conan the Barbarian‘s lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix is awesome. Clearly showcasing the film’s loudest elements, this track sports surround fidelity, and sharp effects, atmospherics, and a throbbing musical score with amazing results. High- and low-ends are crisp and never sluggishly presented, and surrounds are given a blazing workout, with the movie’s soundscape staying immersive throughout.
English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are included.
The following special features are included:
- Audio Commentary with Director Marcus Nispel. Nispel describes the action or setting rather than going into a lot of production detail. He does reference the original Howard stories quite a bit and seems to be aware of the problems of trying to reinvent such an iconic character.
- Audio Commentary with Actors Jason Momoa and Rose McGowan. Momoa and McGowan chat with each other, remembering what various scenes were like to film. The two have an easy rapport with each other and both are funny, and easygoing.
- The Conan Legacy (HD; 18:01) has the film’s creative staff talking about how different versions of Conan inspired them, as well as giving some interesting background on the character’s several iterations, going back to Weird Tales.
- Robert E. Howard: The Man Who Would Be Conan (HD; 11:24) offers a biographical portrait of Howard, focusing on his fantasy life and how he wanted to be Conan.
- Battle Royal: Engineering the Action (HD; 9:55) takes a look at the fight choreography and staging.
- Staging the Fights (HD; 5:47) actually offers pre-viz looks at the fight sequences playing alongside rehearsal footage.
- Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:16)
