Movie Night: Conan the Barbarian (1982).

Review #323: Conan the Barbarian.

Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Conan), James Earl Jones (Thulsa Doom), Sandahl Bergman (Valeria), Gerry Lopez (Subotai), Ben Davidson (Rexor), Mako (The Wizard/Narrator), Max von Sydow (King Osric), Cassandra Gava (The Witch), Valérie Quennessen (The Princess), and William Smith (Conan's Father) Directed by John Milius.

Review
Schwarzenegger has been a small fixture on Movie Night. He was the first actor listed in the first review, and he has been reviewed in six (seven if you count The Expendables) films here. So how about another review with him? (Not much of a question...) Oh right, this is his earliest film reviewed here (Though not his first), with this being released 30 years ago (Ooh, another Anniversary review. I must a stickler for those.), and Schwarzenegger (Try saying that 5 times fast) does an okay job, not being horrible, for the most part. James Earl Jones does a fine job (It's been a while since I've reviewed him, he's a pretty good actor) as the villain (The name Doom isn't really subtle as we might see next year.), and the rest of the cast do fine jobs. The action is riveting, feeling like an epic (I'd mention that this was based off books by Robert E. Howard, except apparently this didn't have much to do with those. Wait, didn't I just mention-), oddities and all. It's unbalanced at times, and yet it does at least one focus: Conan and his revenge. It works in some ways and doesn't in other ways. But hey, the Conan stuff is all over now, right? Conan would be successful in his own right, with momentum for a sequel. But that is another tale that...shall also be told. With regrets either before or after watching it.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.