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It was the tale of a young boy whose family is wiped out
by marauding warriors of an evil snake cult and who is taken
by them and sold into slavery.
Years of hard toil turn him from a slightly built young nipper,
into a veritable hulk who can snap enemies' necks and wave
around huge swords as if they were made of plastic.
Winning fame and freedom with his abilities as a killing
machine, Conan heads off on a quest to track down his family's
murderers.
Together with a small band of friends, including the athletic
and dangerous Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), he fights horrendous
odds and black-magic creatures to finally come face to face
with Thulsa Doom (James Early Jones) the leader of the cult.
This may sound silly, but all those years ago I thought this
movie a bit of a waste of time and Arnie as a dumb bell raising
a dumb-bell.
Looking at it from now and knowing his track record - some
bad, some good, some terrific movies - it is fair to say you
see Conan in a different way. True young Arnie had yet to
come to grips with serious acting in 1982, but you could see
there were glimpses of what he'd move on to.
Imagery is ultra important in Conan-style movies and so it
is good to see the video transfer has been given some careful
handling. It is not perfect - there is a hint of grain about
- but overall is a very good effort.
The sound, however, is average with almost no use of the
surround speakers other than on the music. It may have you
humming along in surround but we really want to hear blades
ringing, screams echoing and ... well, you get the aural picture.
Conan the Barbarian is a movie that lovers of the
fantasy genre - and fans of the fictional character - will
enjoy and it will also be interesting viewing for general
movie fans who can see how far Arnie has come.
Conclusion: Movie 75%, Extras 80%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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