Conan the Barbarian [remake]

[Ophiucha]

So they are making a film based on the Conan the Barbarian novels, though distinctly attempting to distance themselves from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from the 80s. It is coming out this August and most unsurprisingly, it will be in 3D. Conan is played by Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo, in Game of Thrones) and will also star Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Ron Perlman D), and Bob Sapp. It is directed by Marcus Nispel, of such other 'fantastic' remakes as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th.

Needless to say, I have mixed opinions. But I will see it. What about you guys?

 

[Black Dragon]

Wow. That looks really, really good. If the actual film is half as good as this trailer, it may be worth seeing.

 

[GameMasterNick]

A lack of James Earl Jones and a Conan who looks like Fabio might be a deal breaker for me...
If they decide to "tone down" the violence and "raw" nature of Howard's work, it definitely will be.
Something about the trailer tells me this Conan might have a silver tongue, too...

 

[Kate]

I'm a little concerned about the apparent amount of crap looking CGI.
The trailer is getting a lot of people angsty that the new version will be too soft compared to the original. In fact ---- shameless self promotion warning ------ I've just written an article about it

 

[Philip Overby]

Hmm...It kind of looks like any typical Holywood action movie, honestly. The guy playing Conan looks cool, I guess. I'll still see it, just because I love Conan. But just from watching the trailer I get a feeling it's just attaching the Conan name to something that doesn't really feel like Conan. Anyway, I'm going to see it, so I'll reserve full judgment for later.

 

[JBryden88]

It isn't going to be faithful to the stories, but, probably more faithful then the '82 movie.

 

[Behelit]

The trailer gives me that feeling that many mythological/fantastical action movies do, the characters lack charisma, the camera shakes more than necessary and the settings/CGI tend to be dismally unimaginative. It's a dangerous move against critics like me to be entertained via film of iconic characters; I can honestly say that may be most accurately explained as being my fault and not the studio's. Granted I've never read the novels of Conan, I have read the classic comics. That alone has given me a fleshed out character that if being brought to film I have much expectation to be delivered the exact sense of the comics. I wish I were the type to just concede to the title and enjoy it for its references and not necessarily its portrayal.

Perhaps I'm also out of line as the novels may be entirely unlike the comics.

 

[At Dusk I Reign]

"No man should live in chains." Wow, that's profound. Good to know they've spent loads of money on the script...

I think I'll pass on this one. Apart from anything else, I've never seen a movie where the 3D conceit was anything other than a gimmick. I'm always happy to be proved wrong, but I'll probably wait for this to show up on late night TV.

 

[Telcontar]

Looks pretty fun! I just saw the trailer on youtube... though I have to say that Conan doesn't look NEARLY beefy enough. The guy was supposed to be a freaking meat mountain!

 

[JBryden88]

That's actually one thing they get right. In the short stories, Conan is described as pantherish and lean, with a savage grace, not as a steroid fueled muscle man. The new Conan is more Conan then Arnold ever was.

 

[Telcontar]

I've read many of the books, but I suppose I don't remember how they described him. The pictures on the cover were always of some shirtless dude with bulging arms. I do, however, seem to recall a few statements that made him out to be a very large man... maybe they were referring more to height than girth, though. Been years since I read any of the books.

EDIT: According to the Wikipedia page, Howard described him as 'giant' and 'massive', and later implied (by comparison to another character) that Conan would have been about 6'2", ~210 pounds.

 

[Fnord]

I'll see this movie because I loved Howard's stories and I won't go in with too much expectation. Conan in those original stories wasn't necessarily all that deep of a character. He put trust in his sword-arm, had an affinity for the fairer sex, and distrusted anything supernatural. He never came off as being much more involved than that; the focus seemed more on the settings and mysteries surrounding the places he traveled and the people/beings he encountered. Even his devotion to Crom was one of some degree of detachment.