Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Jakoba
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Leofwine_draca
I think it's fair to say that a lot of movie sequels just don't live up to their predecessors. The same can be said of CONAN THE DESTROYER, in which a definite case of "dumbing down" has been performed to make the film appeal to a younger audience. Gone is the excess violence and downbeat story of CONAN THE BARBARIAN, and in its place a family-orientated and lighthearted adventure full of wisecracks and unnecessary comedy. I have to say that this kind of comedy is the bane of '80s (and later) sword and sorcery movies for me. The peplum films of the '60s which covered similar themes did well enough without them, and if I want to watch a comedy then I'll do just that. I'm not a fan of genre crossbreeds.However, if you accept that this film has a lighter spirit and is made in a totally different style to the first then there is much to enjoy, if you ignore the mid-'80s cheesiness. The film has lots of action and swordplay to recommend it, and while the blood doesn't flow as thickly as in the first, there is still a fair share of gruesomeness and decapitated heads. There's also an assortment of monsters for Conan and his friends to fight, and I'm a sucker for monsters. One cheesy highlight has Arnie battling a beast-man (called "Man-Ape") in a hall of mirrors which ends with the villain being bloodily dispatched. Also popping up are a tribe of bloodthirsty cannibals, and at the end of the film, the Lovecraftian God "Dagoth" comes to life from a statue as a huge horned slimy monster (played by wrestler Andre the Giant). It's all fun stuff to watch, if not particularly profound.The film once again has some impressive location filming in the desert, and some of the sweeping visuals that made the first so memorable. Also present is another score from Basil Poledouris, which reuses some of the first film's music to good effect. The costumes look good and Richard Fleischer's direction is pacing and keeps things moving along nicely. The special effects do look very dated in today's light but are still impressive to an undemanding fan, with the dream team of Italian effects aces Giannetto de Rossi and Carlo Rombaldi supplying the makeup and the Dagoth creature respectively. Probably the worst effect was the animated bird that Pat Roach turns into.Arnold Schwarzenegger here returns as a more vocal Conan, but he's still up to his old tricks like punching out horses and performing incredible feats of strength. In one scene he bends bars like in a Steve Reeves epic - I liked the reference. Schwarzenegger has a more mainstream supporting cast this time, including the gigantic basketball player Wilt Chamberlain as a traitor, probably the only man capable of making Arnie look small in comparison! Grace Jones puts in a memorable turn as a fierce warrior woman although I've never cared for the actress. Mako returns from the first film as well, although in a very small nearly pointless supporting role (although he does have one funny wizard battle). Tracey Walter is actually quite likable as the irritating whiny sidekick, and deserves commendation for being such. Olivia d'Abo's character of a spoilt Princess is extremely aggravating but her good looks make up for that. Other familiar faces like those of Sarah Douglas, Pat Roach and Ferdy Mayne flesh out the rest of the roles.The plot is a very simplistic one and not ideal, taking the usual form of a quest for a stolen crystal, or some such nonsense. The fact that Arnie's ally is in fact a traitor gives the film an edge in that we (the audience) know that he's preparing to kill Arnie but Arnie himself doesn't realise. Things culminate in an over-the-top finale in which the pair have an impressively powerful battle, ending in Arnie getting his ear bitten off (maybe Tyson watched this to get tips)! Then, of course, there's the lightning, storm, collapsing palace and howling weird monster-thing for our hero to battle. It's all very silly and cheesy, really, but I couldn't help enjoying it while watching. Not ideal but still a fun movie if you're in the right mood.
BA_Harrison
Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role of legendary sword-swinger Conan, who, in this adventure, is promised the return of his love Valeria by Queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) if he agrees to escort virginal princess Jehnna (Olivia D'Abo) on a quest to find a sacred jewelled horn. With help from his loyal friends, wise wizard Akiro (Mako), cowardly thief Malak (Tracey Walter) and warrior woman Zula (disco diva Grace Jones!!!!), Conan succeeds in his task, but is double-crossed by the queen's guard, Bombaata (Wilt Chamberlain), who has been given orders to kill the barbarian.Conan isn't the only one who feels betrayed… as a fan of the original film, which took a delightfully coarse approach to its sword and sorcery, I have to admit to being disappointed by the family friendly nature of this sequel. What I wanted from a second Conan movie was more sex and gore, Arnie once again frolicking with naked slave-girls and lopping off limbs left, right and centre; instead, we get lots of silly comedy courtesy of the barbarian's irritating sidekicks, very little in the way of graphic violence (there's only one severed noggin and a brief splash of blood), and a couple of shonky rubber monsters. It's reasonably fun in a camp, so-bad-it's-good kind of way, but it's not the film that I wanted.Director Richard Fleischer should be ashamed (doubly so, seeing as he was also responsible for the equally disappointing, PG rated fantasy flick Red Sonja, Arnie's subsequent cinematic outing as a barbarian).
SnoopyStyle
Queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) offers Conan the barbarian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to bring back his love Valeria back from the dead. Conan and his sidekick Malak (Tracey Walter) is to escort Taramis' virgin niece Jehnna (Olivia d'Abo) to find a key and a jewel horn. Her bodyguard Bombaata (Wilt Chamberlain) accompanies them but Taramis tells him to double-cross Conan. On the way, Conan saves wizard Akiro (Mako) and Zula (Grace Jones) and they join the ragtag band of travelers.It's sillier than the first movie. Its saving grace is that it's fun as long as you don't take it seriously. I think the dialog actually got more clunky. There is certainly nothing quite like this. Grace Jones looks crazy awesome. Mako and Tracey Walter are making jokes. Wilt Chamberlain is actually acting. At least he's not much worst than Arnie. Olivia d'Abo looks really pretty. This is one crazy group.
peacham
Personally I prefer this film to the original. "Conan The Barbarian' was slow moving and,while James Earl Jones was excellent, Schwarzenegger was blatantly atrocious. Surrounded by the talent in this film you don't notice how bad he is as often.High marks are scored by Olivia D'Abo as the impudent Princess Jehnna, Sarah Douglas as the sexy,evil queen, and Mako in a comic turn as the Wizard and the stories narrator. Add Tracy Walters and you have a fine supporting cast.Grace Jones and WIolt Chamberlain add nothing to the film except a bit of visual diversity, Jones sneers a lot and Wilt just isn't much of an actor,although he comes off better than Schwarzenegger. The plot is nothing to speak of. Its been done before, but its fun,colorful and its not a bad way to pass 2 hours of your time.
