Conan the Destroyer (1984)

This isn't as good as the first film but it does have some of its own charms. While the first one feels very much like an epic adventure film. This one is more of an action-fantasy. While the first film feels like a grand theater experience, C.T.D feels like a late night cable movie of the week. The thematic elements are a bit different, as well as the overall tone of the story. There are also more comedic moments in this than the previous film. Most of that's due to Conan's clumsy thief sidekick. When compared to the first film it also feels cheesy. Some of the FXs and moments come across as a bit forced and more often than not the battle scenes in this feel rushed. I do enjoy the final battle though, still one of my favorite parts of either film.Where I can throw Conan The Barbarian on pretty much whenever and enjoy it. I have to be in the right mood for this one or view it as part of a back to back with the original. Despite the different vibe, I do enjoy it. I still wish we would have gotten a 3rd Conan film with Arnold. My Rating: 5.5/10

Arnold, said later in life it wasn't pleased with his Conan years, because his English wasn't good. Well, it was perfect for me when I saw this movie at an impressionable 11 years of age.I was an HBO child and turned off my Nintendo only to watch S&S flicks on HBO.This was one of those that earned the power off every time via TV Guide.I gave it a reduction in stars for corny (man-in-a-ape-suit) special effects, and a much to be desired smoke bird depiction. However, the choreography in combat and beyond beautiful females are par excellence. Even the thief comic relief manages to look cool in conveying in the ruckus, and Conan is an equal opportunity employer!I loved the fact that white & black barbarians worked in concert with an asian wizard to win in unity.We need more of that today.The big dopey monster at the end is a gas, but kinda stupid, so another star comes off. I think the film makers went too far in concept and not far enough in physical reality, but it is a personal favorite I cherish.

Conan The Destroyer (1984) Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Tracey Walter, Mako, Sarah Douglas, Olivia d'Abo, Pat Roach, Jeff Corey, Sven-Ole Thorsen, André the Giant and Ferdy Mayne Directed By: Richard Fleischer Review THE MOST POWERFUL LEGEND OF ALL IS BACK IN A NEW ADVENTURE. After the first Conan film making it big at the box office a sequel was on the cards an not just a sequel but apparently Arnold was signed on for a ten year contract with Deno De Laurentiis, the plan was to produce a Conan movie every two years. After watching this I wish that was the case. Conan the Destroyer features the hero (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as he is commissioned by the queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) to safely escort a teen princess (Olivia D'Abo) and her powerful bodyguard (Wilt Chamberlain) to a far away castle to retrieve the magic Horn of Dagon. Unknown to Conan, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess when she returns and inherit her kingdom after the bodyguard kills Conan. The queen's plans fail to take into consideration Conan's strength and cunning and the abilities of his sidekicks: the eccentric wizard Akiro (Mako), the wild woman Zula (Grace Jones), and the inept Malak (Tracey Walter). Together the hero and his allies must defeat both mortal and supernatural foes in this voyage to sword-and-sorcery land. This follow-up was made to address the issues fans had with the first movie. They put in a higher fantasy element and the film was more outlandish and colorful much like the comic from Marvel(funny actually) from the 1970s-1993. It left fans of the first film disappointed(shocked I am not) many cited the change of tone and push for a more family- friendly approach as the wrong way to go but on the plus side some critics felt it was a fun sword/sorcery film that was obviously faithful to the Marvel comics, since Edward R. Pressman suggested that the writer of those comics Roy Thomas write the script. The ending was suppose to have a demon instead but things seemed to expensive and they had to be scaled down. Roy and Gerry weren't happy with the end result of the script. Universal and Dino wanted to maximize profits for the sequel and the best course of action was to try and reduce the rating to a PG and appeal to younger viewers. Arnold expressed his concern on the reduced violence he felt they were going to alienate the fans and would cause problems with its success, but he still had fun making the film. Arnold is back and he does a pretty good job in the film, I can't necessarily say that he was just as good as he was in the first because I don't think hes that good here but hes still the person that will always come to mind when I think of Conan. He put on an extra ten pounds for the role. Sarah Dogulas who plays queen Taramia is just as great as she is in another comic book movie Superman II. Grace Jones plays Zula a character who was originally a man and created by Roy Thomas in the Marvel comics. Olivia d'Abo in her film debut and was only 15 years old at the time of shooting plays the beautiful princess Jehnna, for her film debut she did pretty good but was mostly screaming every time she got captured which for some could be pretty annoying but it didn't bother me. Tracey Walter plays Malick a thief who works along side Conan and is a bit of a coward who doesn't care much for the quest. Mako is back as Akiro the wizard to help Conan fight off other wizards along the way and is only other returning cast member from the first movie. The movies visual effects are still pretty great despite usage of blue screen. But the miniatures are the effects that are the best, like the castles and expand the world. The beast the wizard turns into is a nice design but doesn't give the actor much to do with his facial features. The winged creature that he also turns into is also nicely executed. The films goal was not only to capitalize on the success of the first film but to also make a more comic book style sword and sorcery adventure. The story and other characters do feel pretty weak given how good there performers are. The film does have quite a few problems such as that and can suck you out of it if your looking for something more. The tone is also not consistent with its first movie which is kind of problem considering how masterful I think that movie is. Conan The Destroyer is a fun watch but don't expect the first movie. Its goal was to have a higher fantasy elements and be more colorful towards children. With that in mind I think its great as a stand- alone film not as a sequel and I'm a huge sucker for sword/sorcery. It has good performances and great action and music but it is weak on story and side characters. Call me crazy but I still love it just as much as the first but for totally different reason I'm giving Conan The Destroyer a five out of five.

As someone who personally just found the original "Conan The Barbarian" film to just be mediocre, I didn't have high hopes for this film. It's probably because it's poorly paced and doesn't have interesting characters. The plot is that Conan is sent by an evil queen on some mission to resurrect his dead lover. He realizes he's being tricked and they're going to sacrifice her niece. Apparently, Wilt Chamberlain played a woman in this movie. Why don't they have a thumbnail image for him on this website? It's a really dumb casting choice. There's this one guy who's also really obnoxious and he reminded me of Rob Schneider.There actually is an interesting bit at the end where a sea monster god appears. What's fascinating is that the creator of "Conan The Barbarian" was friends with the creator of the Cthulhu mythos. They subtly referenced each other in their works. I'm wondering if the sea monster god that appears is supposed to be one of the creatures from the Cthulhu mythos. I so missed James Earl Jones from the last movie as this new villain was nowhere near as entertaining. Oh and happy tenth anniversary, Nostalgia Critic! I'm celebrating you by reviewing films you have already reviewed! *1/2