Rating:  -
Conan The Destroyer, toned down de violence and the sex of its predecessor, Conan the Barbarian. This sequel features more fantasy oriented action and some fun for younger audiences. Some people may think this is not right, but I think it makes the movie more enjoyable. The feeling of adventure is more fast paced and so its the action you get Arnold Schwarzenegger on the lead role trying to get away with some humor (the scene with a drunken Conan teaching the princess how to fight is hilarious) and some things that maybe purists wouldn't like but after all, Conan wasn't always that dark.
Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain (that Will Chamberlain!!!), Olivia D'Abo and Sarah Douglas are among the cast. Somehow it lacks the feeling of the original big cinematic stance but this is more fun to watch.
If you like fantasy adventure movies this one needs to be in your collection.
Rating:  -
After director John Milius crafted a classic with the big screen adaptation of Conan the Barbarian, Universal pumped out this sequel two years later aimed at a younger crowd. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as Conan, and is undoubtadly the best thing about this film which almost parodies the original. Also featured is one of the campiest casts ever assembled which includes Grace Jones and Wilt Chamberlain. All in all, Conan the Destroyer isn't a bad film on it's own when you don't compare it to the original or take it seriously.
Rating: -
After a (short) 3 year break, the inevitable sequel to "Conan the Barbarian" was made. While "Conan the Barbarian" was a true classic, packed with epic shots, great music, well-paced action, etc., "Conan the Destroyer" can be described as a campy sequel that almost makes fun of the original.
"Conan the Destroyer" takes place shortly after the original. Conan is wandering the lands, looking for adventure and danger (Sound's weak, right?) with his new sidekick, a guy you'll hope you NEVER SEE AGAIN IN ANY OTHER MOVIE after you see this one. Completely randomly, some queen hires him to escort her daughter to find a magical horn thing, and off he goes.
Much more in the fantasy vein than its predecessor, this film finds itself with one of the most, uh, interesting casts ever. Grace Jones and Wilt Chamberlain are the main standouts. (Wait, hold the phone! WILT CHAMBERLAIN?!) Yes, you read correctly. Actually, his role in this film is actually pretty decent, for he does well in the action scenes and acting.
As mentioned earlier, this a FANTASY FILM. While the original had Conan battling Snake Cult worshipers, Thulsa Doom, etc., this movie has him battling a big creature thing and other "fantasy movie enemies." But, the action is pretty good. While the first film is mostly hacking and slashing, this movie actually has SWORDFIGHTING. And it's well choreographed. Also, the cinemetography is great as is the music. (All of the themes are enhanced versions of the themes in the first film, but who cares.)
You might be thinking now that the movie sounds kinda decent. Good action and epic cinemeography, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. But here comes the real problem: IT'S RATED PG! HOW CAN A CONAN MOVIE BE RATED PG?! The first one had lots o' violence and sex scenes galore (all an integral part of the "Conan world") but in this one there is almost no blood! The whole feel of the first one is changed to the "fun, happy" tone in this one. Now, if you can get over that, (which you won't) you MIGHT like this film.
All in all, here's the overview:
Good action and cinemetography, "fun" adventure, IT'S CONAN!
Bad acting, stupid plot, too much fantasy, it's rated PG.
2.5 stars; at best, a C-
1984; 101 minutes; RATED PG for sword violence, some mildly disturbing images, and sexual innuendo.
NOTE: There are rumors that a third Conan movie is in pre-production. According to "Cinescape" magazine, the third entry will star Arnold Schwarzenegger and will be directed by John Milius (the director of the original.) Apparenly, it is belived that it will begin with Conan already a king, and will be about Conan training his SON in the ways of the kingdom. Right......
Well, at least it's rumored to being directed by John Milius.
Rating: -
In "Conan the Destroyer", the brooding Cimmerian barbarian is enlisted to help the regent of the city of Shadizar recover a powerful artifact - a horn, that will awaken Shadizar's sleeping god. To complete his quest, the barbarian must protect Jenna, a lovely princess (Olivia D'Abo) and her escort, Bombataa (Wilt Chamberlin - in an inspired bit of miscasting, his character's essential role is protect the princess's virtue - she won't be able to reclaim the artifact unless she keeps her virginity as well). He'll also have the help of the Malak, a bumbling and cowardly cutthroat and thief, the Mystic Sage, and Zula, an outcast warrior played by the androgenous Grace Jones (in the Marvel Comics original, Zula's character was decidedly male). To get the horn, Conan will first have to find its crystal key - both of which are kept in their own foreboding temple-to-the-evil-demigod, and each of which comes with its own evil wizard. (Only the princess can touch the crystal.) Conan isn't sure if he should be along with this quest, but Shadizar's regent baits him with his heart's desire - to reunite him with Valeria (Sandahl Bergman - who died in the last film). As with all quests, this one comes with some dangers, not the least of which is the crooked paths the quest will take, and the question of whether the sleeper should even awaken.
The story is based on an extended story appearing in one of the Conan Comics series. Suffice it to say that, based on his experiences there, Conan came to know Shadizar as the "city of lies". Otherwise, this story misses the heart of the Conan saga so aptly matched in the first movie - which was complex and deep where this flick is shallow and uninspired. The flick, in touching on characters who were originated in Marvel Comics' various Conan titles sets itself up for comparison to comic books, and loses badly. Zula, a warrior who gave up the freebooters life for the twisted ways of sorcery, is only another crazy rogue here. Thoth Amon, who bedevils Conan from the start, is only a common sorceror here, no different from the lesser mages Conan would face. Even the twist, where Conan learns that he's been working for evil the whole time, is no twist (a surprise given away early by the casting of the lovely but evil Sarah Douglas as Jenna's aunt). The movie completely misses the heart of the Conan legend - how a mercenary rogue and barbarian somehow matured and became the uncontested ruler of a modern and civilized (for Hyborian days) kingdom.
The biggest problem with the story is that, it's not a particularly memorable Conan story - untrustworthy wizrds, beautiful women, fearless warriors - having the ingredients of countless lesser Conan tales. As with the first movie, this one ends with a vision of Conan as a future ruler of Aquilonia, seeing him grayed as he sits on the throne, worried over the typical problems of running a kingdom. "...but that was another story", the flick tells us. The only difference is that, when the first flcik was over, we were sure that we had nevertheless had a story we enjoyed, whereas at the end of this one, I couldn't stop wondering, "well, why didn't they show that story instead?"
Rating: -
Following the phenomenal success of both the original "Conan The Barbarian" movie as the following record-breaking smash with "The Terminator', Schwarzenegger found himself reluctantly under contract to film the first of three originally planned sequels to the Conan movie, "Conan the Destroyer". Yet this time it would be quite a different movie, more of a comic book approach to the pulp-fiction hero, with the emphasis on special effects and attempting to appeal to younger viewers. Indeed, the director of the original movie, John Milius, was not brought back to reprise his oversight, and the new director had very different ideas about how to interpret the character and the storyline. Arnold had come in a little lean yet muscular, and the director was less than thrilled. He insisted Schwarzenegger bulk up to more huge bodybuilding proportions, and delayed filming while Arnie quickly bulked up more than 30 pounds by training like a madman for three months or so.
The result is a movie in which Conan is reduced to a comic book type figure, and all of the dark and brooding nuances of the character as depicted in the original film are absent. That much said, Arnold looks absolutely terrific, very big and quite muscular, and some of the action scenes, especially in the beginning and toward the end, are quite reminiscent of the first film. The special effects are quite good in spots, although some of the sets and dialogue are a bit wooden and unrealistic. There is a lot of good humor in the film, and the supporting cast has luminaries like Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, and Olivia D'Abo cast well for some interesting hijinks along the way. The plot seems silly and contrived, and the only saving grace seems to be the final confrontation with the creature summoned up from Hell by the sorceress to conquer the world. The ensuing struggle between a mere mortal like Conan and the supernatural creature seems right out of the Robert Howard novels, and serves to redeem the movie in the lat moments.
This is not something I would recommend for children, as it is quite frightening at points, and it also has a lot of dialogue referring to "D'Abo's "virtue" or chastity, which gets to be a bit much as it is repeated again and again. But any chance to see Conan seemingly come to life as only he can through the magic of movies is worth all these quibbles, and I have turned this on for some rather mindless action entertainment perhaps more often than I want to discuss publicly. It isn't a particularly well-made film, and it has a few plot holes that even an idiot could think his way through. Yet it also has the saving grace of giving us Arnold playing the part of Conan as only he could, after all. And as the character says in one of Howard's most famous stories about him, "Who dies first?" Enjoy!
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