Folks this is a movie , a film about our favorite broadsword wielding barbarian warrior it's not a body building competition. I myself will choose to leave my critique at the door after I've seen the movie. I watch these trailers and I like them. I like them with the Heavy Metal and without , I like them despite not having an Arnold running around as the infamous Cimmerian. I like them depsite the fact that there are people out there who don't. Know why? Because it's CONAN! You love CONAN you like CONAN whatever! They are putting together a movie for the people who love the character.
I know that Everyone has an image of CONAN in mind and Jason does not fit that said image. Many people like Arnold as CONAN because of his awesome physique and that's it. But in my humble opinion. Arnold treated CONAN as a joke. C'mon man..CONAN was not a buffoon.
He was not some guy who falls asleep in his gruel. He did not get drunk and walk into the chest of his enemy. He would not have said " Lot on your Knife ". That stuff was all campy nonsense in the spirit of the BATMAN tv show with Adam West. I prefer to remain diplomatic with the anticipation of this movie. I can't safely pass judgment and create a critique on a movie that has not come out. I had my apprehensions and reservations toward the movie when I first saw Jason...with his beard and his dreds. He was too thin and lanky. But then I saw some stills of him dressed up for the part and new hope blossomed in my heart.
In the spirit of giving a positive message for the fans of CROM and CONAN...please try to make an honest attempt to keep your mind open and look for the good in things surrounding this movie. Look at the glass as if it's Half full. There are too many critics in this world ready to bash and smash. But I am not going to sit here and compare physiques. Then take a look at Jason and judge the movie based on the fact he's not built like Arnold ( who happens to be a creep and an adulterer and I lost all respect for the guy ) NOBODY..can have a physique like that. That's a lot of training and a lot of juice. But the fact remains...I personally can't wait for this movie. The trailers...look good to me. I expect only good things.
Yes, Arnold was in fact the most perfect physical specimen of humanity in his heyday. But our new Conan actor is still RIPPED! He may not be as big or as defined, but I think his facial features match up closely to the classic artwork we all know and love. I hope this will be a good flick, at least a passable one. Crossing my fingers.
ReplyDeleteMikeyboy, well said, by Crom! I think most of the fans of Arnold’s Conan are unfamiliar with Howard’s prose. They only know Conan from Schwarzenegger’s portrayal and are unwilling to accept another actor’s interpretation. Before the first film was released in 1982, I thought that Schwarzenegger’s look wasn’t dark enough, but I was willing to overlook his less-than-black-haired-mane and enjoy his performance. I actually think that Jason Momoa looks more like Howard’s Conan, but I am waiting to see his performance before making any judgments as to how good a Conan he will be.
ReplyDeleteI’m really more concerned with the story and the depiction of Howard’s fictional Hyborian world. The trailers do indeed look good, but I don’t recognize anything in them that says Hyborian Age to me. Still, I’ll keep an open mind and hope for the best, just as I did with the 1982 Conan film.
Doc...I could not agree with you more. The world of the Hyborian age of 12,000 years before the time of recorded History...( Making it like 14,000 years ago right? ) There was no art deco or even gothic imagery...just plain stone and wood buildings..there are many ornate edifices standing about. But even that will not sway me.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I'd read...Nispel and Momoa talked about staying true to Howards vision but not exactly. They wanted a feel and a look as well as a dark setting. But there are many ways they went in their own direction and this was intended.
To make an entirely true to Howard film adaptation you'd need to cut back on the production values and sets. BUT this is Hollywood and the average movie patron is not your average CONAN fan and they wanted to appeal to everyone. Wrapping it all up in a package so LABLED you have no recourse but to accept it and there is no room for misinterpreatation. It is how it is and that's that.
But with the trailers and the stills and all this hype and build up...I'm already on the edge of my seat.
Arnie was the wrong choice. He has too many muscles.
ReplyDeleteJason however is a good choice. He really looks like the Conan we all know from the comics and artwork.
In terms of physique, I think Mamoa's current build is closer to REH's Conan than Ah-nold's. Conan had the build of a fighting man with good genes, not of someone who worked out in the gym all day every day.
ReplyDeletewell, the question is which conan you have in your head: there is the one with tigerish thews that howard describes, then the one with short hair and medium build depicted on the covers of many a weird tales, then there is the one in the pages of the savage sword developed by roy thomas (which is the one i probably visual most of us fans have stuck in our heads), then there's schwarzenegger (who was beefy and killed a snake wizard... and that's about where the conan similarities ended), then there is the more recent role-playing video game... based on the trailers i'd say momoa is a decent compromise... and i'm certainly encouraged by his excellent turn in game of thrones... but thr truth is i've been waiting for this movie for a long time and i was really hoping that if they did it they'd do it right and we'd get an awesome dark journey ala red nails... which really does not look like it's going to happen (conan's dad? puh-lease!) so right now i'm going to go in to the theater with extremely low expectations and hopefully be a little bit satisfied when i walk out...
ReplyDeleteArnold merely obeyed Milius "as if he were a dog", in Arnie's own words.
ReplyDeleteSo if someone's to blame, it's rather Milius who made him a mute wonder.
Actors do not change scripts, unless they've got serious mileage , and Arnie had none at the time.
Fleischer did the same and directed Arnie to act as a silent strongman, surely this image suited the austrian oak well, after films like the Terminator.
whats going on with the clothes? is this conan or prince of persia?
ReplyDeleteIn the REH stories he wore many different garbs...he wore Arab style clothes and hides and furs and all of that at different and appropriate points in the yarns.
ReplyDeleteThe Marvel comic books put him in a bear skin loin cloth...he was a comic book character a super hero for all intents and prurposes.
That was a device so people would immediately recognize CONAN the Barbarian the comic book hero.
Fact is CONAN changed his clothes a lot...lol
Jason looks more like Conan than arnold
ReplyDeleteI think Jason looks very much like the way Conan was described in the original stories.
ReplyDeleteThick black mane? Check.
Bronzed skin? Check.
Scarred torso? Check.
Slightly sinister features? Check.
My only complaint is that Conan never went into combat unarmored if he could help it; Jason needs to be more covered and protected.
Doc
Momoa looks nothing like Conan to me. For one he is not white, which is pretty obvious even though no one is saying it for some reason. Two, he does not have black hair or blue eyes. Three, he is kind of scrawny everywhere except in the chest region.
ReplyDelete