Conan the Destroyer

Boy, did this one take a wrong turn at Albuquerque! Although it's still pretty entertaining, it's played far too much for laughs.

Ahnuld is back, and this time he gets more dialogue, a big mistake. He sounds more than a little ridiculous with a large part of his dialogue. Instead of Gerry Lopez, we have Tracy Walter, a fine actor, but too comedic for this (yeah, he's the comic relief, but Conan shouldn't have comic relief). Mako is good and Sarah Douglas sizzles as always. Grace Jones, well, is Grace Jones. If you are looking for subtlety, look elsewhere. And, speaking of subtlety, there's "Wilt, the Stilt." As an actor, Wilt makes a great basketball player. Olivia D'Abo is cute, but little else.

The movie has its moments and the finale is pretty good, but there's a lot of junk in the middle. The fight between Conan and Toth-Amon (Pat "Bomber" Roach) is fantastic, but the campfire scenes after are just plain stupid. Tracy Walter's character gets annoying with the constant Shaggy and Scooby jokes (you know, "I'll wait here. Wait for me!"). The basic story is good and in keeping with Conan traditions, but it descends into camp at the worst times.

Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway were quite familiar with Conan, having written the character for Marvel Comics. How much of their story is in the final film is a puzzler. The elements that work are straight out of Howard and Roy Thomas' comics. The goofier stuff, who knows?

The first film was epic adventure. This is more of a glorified B-movie. It's fun when you have a group of friends together and can "MST3K" it; but as cinema, it's not 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Director Richard Fleischer has done better. Still, it's a great "guilty pleasure" film.

This film even though is the second part of Conan the barbarian but it is a damn good film. My kids love it and even I have seen it so many times with them. Arnold is fantastic and so is Grace Jones and Sara Douglass. I wish director Richard Fleischer makes more of this type of films like Conan 3,4,etc., before Arnold gets too old.

This is an epic adventure based on Robert E Howard's pulp tales with screenplay by the comic-book authors, Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway , it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role, the Hyborian Age hero . This time Conan with the help his partner (Tracey Walter), a magician (Mako, who repeats his role as wizard of ¨Conan the Barbarian ¨ by John Milius and written by Oliver Stone), an androgynous sidekick( Grace Jones who steals the show ), as a club-wielding tomboy, a giant hoodlum (Wilt Chamberlain) and a virgin princess(Olivia DÁbo) undergo on a risked trip to find a treasure whose sacred jewel contains a magic horn that relives a monster (manufactured by Carlo Rambaldi : ET) and leading a vibrant ending.

This violent following packs noisy action, full-blooded adventure, thrills, crude scenes and rip-roaring fights. Dumb images and unintentionally hilarious but amusing . Made on a grand scale with spectacular production design and colorful cinematography by Jack Cardiff, occasionally filmmaker. Big budget and lavishly produced by Raffaela De Laurentis, Dino's daughter. Impressive musical score composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris as vibrant as the original Conan. In other words, it seem likely Conan enthusiasts and juvenile viewers will be delighted. Followed by several low-grade imitations and rip offs, and spawned TV series starred by Ralph Moller. Furthermore a similar film realized in old-fashioned style also directed by Richard Fleischer titled ¨Red Sonja¨ with Brigette Nielsen as female lead , Sandahl Bergman and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger has a brief guest spot. And in production a new ¨Conan¨ by Marcus Nispel with Jason Momoa,Rose McGowan and Ron Perlman.

If you're looking for a deep, interesting and layered fantasy flick which makes sense and has an original story, go rent out the first Conan movie. Conan the Destroyer is pure Hollywood cheese, made because the Conan the Barbarian was such a hit. The studio execs made the story more light-hearted, with sidekicks and magic and the kind of story a thirteen-year-old could watch without getting in trouble.

Oddly enough, it works. While it's light years away from Robert E Howard's original Conan stories, Conan the Destroyer is still great fun, even twenty years after it was made. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes the most of the very silly lines he's given, Tracey Walter proves a capable if somewhat pointless comic foil, and the irony of casting Wilt Chamberlain as a protector of a young princess' virginity is hilarious.

Mako hams it up, Grace Jones takes it all too seriously and Olivia D'Abo makes for a good childlike princess because she was 16 when the film got made. The music's over-dramatic, the lines are laughable ("Some wizard you are! Go back to juggling apples!") and the story's cliché, but for Saturday night viewing, nothing beats Conan the Destroyer.

Possibly Interesting Trivia: This movie was produced by Raffaela De Laurentis, daughter of the famous Dino De Laurentis. She also produced the confusing big-budget epic "Dune". Both Dune and this movie flopped at the box office, and both were filmed in Mexico.

For fantasy-geeks like myself, this 1984 outing of the legendary swordsman is an interesting mix of highs and lows. The cinematography, costumes and settings are a high-point, remaining loyal to Frazetta's incredible illustrations.

Gone, unfortunately, is the first film's solid, adult screenplay. Howard's original, "Nietzschean" Conan is watered-down here, the director deciding to play for laughs (but Conan and his world just is'nt comedic).

Like the dialogue, the casting is sometimes hit and miss. Although Grace Jones (as the wild warrioress Zula) has been criticized as "over the top", she puts in a solid, believable performance. Sarah Douglas also shines as Queen Taramis, although we don't see enough of her! Arnie is adequate, as is Mako (who reprises his role here as a helpful wizard).

The film suffers most from poor special effects (an unforgivable crime for fantasy lovers)! It looks like they spent most of the budget on actors and settings, but even by 1980s standards, the monsters Conan faces were absurd.

Lessons were not learned, ending with the debacle of "Red Sonja" a year later. Arnie admitted that film to be "the worst he ever made". "Destroyer" amounts to harmless entertainment, lacking conviction, but watchable all the same.