RexMundi Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I just watched Trailer #2 and... I'm not really excited about what I'm seeing. I'm not sure what's missing... but part of it seems to be a case of too much 'magic' and not enough pure swordplay and physical prowess. I mean' date=' there's made-of-sand people (?), a giant... squid thing, weird blue people, and a lot of other stuff that doesn't seem to jibe with what I know from the stories. But that's just me.[/quote'] Really? I keep hearing that, and as a Long Term Conan Fan, it always makes me scratch my head and wonder what's up. I look at the trailers and I see: Typical Hyborian Level Magic (Curses, Augury, occasional summoning of something icky, like Pict Ghosts that use sand to make a physical form), the magic seems to be limited to the manipulative sorcerer flunky and doesn't seem even at the level of Thoth Amon nor the ghost of Thulsa Doom or Tamar Shar Kahn or Kulan Gath from the comics, and certainly not at the level of Xaltotun from The Hour of the Dragon. I see Picts (that look like REH Picts no less), with Woad and Mohawks and all, a Giant Squid Thing (which fits in with the multitudes of giant critters Conan has fought and or had conflicts with throughout the stories and comics: Giants, Giant Spiders, Giant Eels, Ghouls, Grey Apes, Black Ones, Hyborian Dragons, Winged Horrors, Devil Flowers, The Elephant Being of Yag (and a few other Demi Gods and Demons), etc etc etc ......Hyboria has a HUGE bestiary, and Lots of Magic. Just not Flashy DnD Magic. On top of all that, the folks saying the opening plot is no different then the Original Arnie film haven't been looking at it beyond a cursory glance either.....There's History between Conan's father and the Main Badguy of the Movie, and it wraps into a lot of spoiler ridden things ..... I get a good Conan Vibe from this. Far more so then the First movies. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Really? I keep hearing that, and as a Long Term Conan Fan, it always makes me scratch my head and wonder what's up. I look at the trailers and I see: Typical Hyborian Level Magic (Curses, Augury, occasional summoning of something icky, like Pict Ghosts that use sand to make a physical form), the magic seems to be limited to the manipulative sorcerer flunky and doesn't seem even at the level of Thoth Amon nor the ghost of Thulsa Doom or Tamar Shar Kahn or Kulan Gath from the comics, and certainly not at the level of Xaltotun from The Hour of the Dragon. I see Picts (that look like REH Picts no less), with Woad and Mohawks and all, a Giant Squid Thing (which fits in with the multitudes of giant critters Conan has fought and or had conflicts with throughout the stories and comics: Giants, Giant Spiders, Giant Eels, Ghouls, Grey Apes, Black Ones, Hyborian Dragons, Winged Horrors, Devil Flowers, The Elephant Being of Yag (and a few other Demi Gods and Demons), etc etc etc ......Hyboria has a HUGE bestiary, and Lots of Magic. Just not Flashy DnD Magic. On top of all that, the folks saying the opening plot is no different then the Original Arnie film haven't been looking at it beyond a cursory glance either.....There's History between Conan's father and the Main Badguy of the Movie, and it wraps into a lot of spoiler ridden things ..... I get a good Conan Vibe from this. Far more so then the First movies. ~Rex I think it's a case of overload. Yes, Conan fought demons, giant apes, big snakes, giant spiders, and so on... but not all at once. And it might be a case of them cramming everything in so it looks chaotic and jumbled to me, and not spaced out properly as REH might present it. I mean in Beyond the Black River (my favorite story) Conan fights Picts for a time, then injures the big-assed snake (it might not be dead and Conan rightly bails before making sure), flees the Picts, writes a rune in the ground, fights Picts, then finally fights the demon the Pict chief summoned. in Red Nails (another favorite) there's the 'dragon,' then the city dwellers, and more city people, a strange snake thing in the crypts, and finally the crazy wizard guy. So yes, there's magic and strange stuff... but I'm not getting that sort of vibe form the trailers. Personally, I didn't see anything that said "Pict" (which would be something akin to Native Americans with blue war paint) and I don't get the Conan's father stuff... REH wrote next to nothing about Conan's family, other then he was born on a battlefield and (I think) his father was a blacksmith. All of Conan's enemies were people he peeved off on his own. That said--it does look like a rocking fantasy film it just doesn't say Conan to me... yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Nah I stick within Genre for the most part when doing Comparative Battles. ~Rex Conan vs Karl Edward Wagner's Kane? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Conan vs Karl Edward Wagner's Kane? Hmm......Would be interesting. Kane is kinda in a class of his own, but then Conan, IS Conan...... ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I think it's a case of overload. Yes' date=' Conan fought demons, giant apes, big snakes, giant spiders, and so on... but not all at once. And it might be a case of them cramming everything in so it looks chaotic and jumbled to me, and not spaced out properly as REH might present it. I mean in [i']Beyond the Black River[/i] (my favorite story) Conan fights Picts for a time, then injures the big-assed snake (it might not be dead and Conan rightly bails before making sure), flees the Picts, writes a rune in the ground, fights Picts, then finally fights the demon the Pict chief summoned. in Red Nails (another favorite) there's the 'dragon,' then the city dwellers, and more city people, a strange snake thing in the crypts, and finally the crazy wizard guy. So yes, there's magic and strange stuff... but I'm not getting that sort of vibe form the trailers. Personally, I didn't see anything that said "Pict" (which would be something akin to Native Americans with blue war paint) and I don't get the Conan's father stuff... REH wrote next to nothing about Conan's family, other then he was born on a battlefield and (I think) his father was a blacksmith. All of Conan's enemies were people he peeved off on his own. That said--it does look like a rocking fantasy film it just doesn't say Conan to me... yet. I can see where you're coming from. I've also seen a few things that say Pict as well that may not be apparent in the one trailer but then I've been collecting everything I could for this movie since the day I first heard of it. Should be a good time. Won't have to wait much longer though to really say Yea or Nay about it. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Kane to Elric in "The Gothic Touch". . . "I kill things. That's what I was created to do. I'm rather good at it." There are hints in the books that Kane was engineered to be the perfect killer by a mad god in revenge for Kane killing his own brother. So, in addition to plausibly being stronger and faster than Conan, he also has sorcery on his side. And as a character, I think I prefer him to Conan, and Wagner's stories to Howard's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister E Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Kane's sorcerous fortification makes him Conan's natural prey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... TOMORROW!.....Well later today actually, heh.......the Review will be in as soon as I get back from the shows. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Yep, I'm psyched. Got panned in a local review, but it was also REALLY clear that the writer both knew nothing about REH and was a fan of the 80's movies. He cited a lack of character growth. Yeah, Conan changes a LOT in the stories. Oh wait... no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... He changes between books .....Pirate...>Thief....King.....heh...... One theme I've noticed from the BAD reviews. They all LOVED the Arnie movie. The miss the Fun and the Humor. They find this movie to be, Kinda Mean, and overly gritty. I wonder where I've noticed the mean and gritty before? ~Rex...says if this takes off, no reason not to get a Bran Mak Morn movie, and say, some Cormac MacArt as well. We got Solomon Kane (at least a prequel) but alas, Hollywood wouldn't release it here and it's actually ENTERTAINING. They did give us Season of the Witch though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Celt Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Ebert pours so much vitriol in his review, I'm surprised he gave it 1 1/2 stars. His review of the original Schwarzenegger film yielded 3 stars. I fear Roger is getting crotchety in his old age, alas, but look forward to others' viewing reports here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Yeah if Ebert Pans something that normally means I'll like it a lot. Looking forward to this flick. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrito Boy Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I won't be getting to watch the movie until tomorrow at the earliest. Anybody what doesn't spoiler their review will get to spend some quality time with my good friend Yag-Kosha inside the Heart of the Elephant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Yeah if Ebert Pans something that normally means I'll like it a lot. Looking forward to this flick. ~Rex Curiously, both Siskel and Ebert gave a double thumbs up to one of my favorite movies of all time: The Road Warrior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranxerox Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Ebert pours so much vitriol in his review' date=' I'm surprised he gave it 1 1/2 stars. His review of the original Schwarzenegger film yielded 3 stars. I fear Roger is getting crotchety in his old age, alas, but look forward to others' viewing reports here. Yes, Ebert is getting crotchety in his old age. Also, he is mentally slipping which is really sad. In several reviews of his that I have read recently, he missed major plot points of the movies and this was reflected in his reviews of them. He blamed characters for making actions without purpose when there were perfectly good in movie justifications for their actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsedgamer Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Isn't it also possible that the movie isn't any good? The reviews are universally poor from what I've seen, taking Ebert into consideration or not. We geeks have to stop accepting crappy movies if we want the standards to rise. The fact that we will go to see anything just to get a fix is the reason why we are soon to be treated to another horrible Underworld movie, which will probably be followed by another Resident Evil POS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Seen it, twice, Had a Great Time. Is it 100% perfect? No, but it's up there in what I was looking for, and expecting. Giving it 3.8 out of 5 Dead Picts in the snow. Would have gone for 4 but some annoying Modern Parent thought it would be cool to bring a pack of small children to a rated R Movie and I had to resort to getting up and yelling at them to shut up and take the kids out of the theater (that got an applause). Momoa, solid Job, borderline nailed it. Lang, as usual, the big screen can not contain the Awesome. Physicality: Check. Hyborian Feel: Check Hyborian Style Magic: Check Cimmerian Wrought Carnage: Check Good Time: Check ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balabanto Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I hated this movie. I didn't get a Hyborean feel off it at all. The writers showed they hadn't read the source material at all. As much as Jason Mamoa NAILED Conan, the script was a thing of absolute horror that turned a grim barbarian into a whiny little pansy with daddy issues. Too much screaming! CROM IS A SILENT, COLD GOD! There was a total waste of Ron Perlman as Conan's father. This is not his best work, and it looked like he phoned in everything. Calling a Thaumaturgist a Necromancer, according to Howard's standards. Bad director! No biscuit. The city of thieves has a different name. About the only thing this movie got right was the Zingarans. They looked right and behaved right. This director was far more interested in making a tribute to the bad 1982 movie than in making a good Conan movie. If I had been writing this thing, I would have skipped the backstory of Conan's youth, (except for a brief scene about the sacking of Venarium), and had Conan arrive in a city to be picked by the director. The sorceress sleeps with him in disguise and the villain forces his aid to get the last piece of the mask from Rich Guy X, pretending to be a rich merchant. It's a good movie, as long as you make Conan "Bob." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... ...If I had been writing this thing, I would have skipped the backstory of Conan's youth.... No way, man! Starting in the middle of the action? I've got this old book by some boring Greek guy named Homer where he did that, and look where it got him? Okay, admittedly that pansywaist, Virgil, imitated him. And that Robert E. Howard dude. And Sergio Leone even forgot to give Clint Eastwood a name in his movies. But they do that all the time in Westerns. Like, what were Shane's school days like? Did he have a wise mentor and stuff like that? Why weren't we shown that for an hour before we got into all that cowboy stuff? And then there's young George Lucas, who completely dropped the backstory of Darth Vader and Obi Wan in order to get into this whole "Death Star" thing. Why, he didn't finally get the story right until he released the prequels. But by now I'm just, like, listing off the Complete Losers List of Epic Fail.* Obviously what you want to do is waste screen time and lose the audience's attention by starting with a meandering origin story that has to be equally tediously tied in to the climax. Bore the audience, waste time, water down the climax. It's, like, storytelling basics. *I can't help but think that I could drop two words from this phrase somewhere. You know? Punch it up a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstone Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Isn't it also possible that the movie isn't any good? The reviews are universally poor from what I've seen' date=' taking Ebert into consideration or not. We geeks have to stop accepting crappy movies if we want the standards to rise. The fact that we will go to see anything just to get a fix is the reason why we are soon to be treated to another horrible Underworld movie, which will probably be followed by another Resident Evil POS.[/quote'] It's possible the movie is horrible. If all goes well, I shall be seeing it today with my sons. The reviews cite bad plot, bad acting and horrible dialogue. While I prefer all of those things be excellent, I don't necessarily watch ACTION movies for any of those things. If I did, I wouldn't see movies with terrible actors doing ridiculous stunts while speaking languages I can't even understand. So yeah, I'm approaching this as a bad kung fu movie set in Hyboria. If I actually get MORE than that, I'll probably be pleased. Keep in mind, I'm not going to see it because I have any particular love of Conan or some pressing need to see a fantasy movie. I'm going to see it because I'm hoping it will be cool. Ultimately, I'll be judging it based on how bad ass the action is first, with everything else secondary. Oh, and the new Underworld looks better than the last two so... we'll just have to wait and see The Resident Evil franchise, on the other hand, can suck it!!! (and I should point out, I think the action for Conan looks kinda iffy from the trailers.... but I'd rather take the kids to this than that POS Final Destination 5) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I found it to be an acceptable Homage to the The Savage Sword of Conan BWS stuff. Had Elements of REH but missed a bit. Dropping the Origin would have helped a LOT as far as my 3.8 Dead Picts in the Snow rating. The Nitpicky stuff that bugged me (like the Thaumaturge/Necromancer thing) were balanced out by other things I liked but I still felt more Conan stuff from this then what I ever felt from the Arnie stuff. Unfortunately I just don't see any of that being fixable on the Budget they had to work with. They got a Barbarian action flick that you can put on the shelf next to the Solomon Kane flick, and they got some Elements right which is better then getting NO elements right as per previous editions. So still sticking with my 3.8 out of 5 for the same reasons cited before. I saw what the director was aiming at, but he should have gone, more literature orientated folks and less cinematic bait. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steamteck Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I loved it. nitpick the details all you want but to me it had the spirit and soul of Conan. I liked almost all the story points and it really had a Howardesque feel to me. Although I pretty much disagree with Belabanto on every point , He is right about two things. They got the name of the city of thieves wrong which matters not at all to me and Jason Mamoa NAILED Conan. this is a DVD to buy the second it comes out for me. Absolutely loved it. I have finally seen a real Conan movie. And both my wife and I thought Ron Perlman did an outstanding job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrito Boy Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... I'm not sure if this has already been posted, but here's an article about Conan. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6876947/when-need-our-barbarians Note: I never would have found this if Cygnia hadn't posted another article from the same site in the WWE thread. So thanks go to her for that. And I in no way agree with everything in this article. "bogus dream of a warrior ethic"? Freakin' hippie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Flawless Review is up! http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/51792-Bunneh-s-Flawless-Movie-Review-Thread/page214 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Re: Conan: The Current Movie in Progress..... Flawless Review is up! http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/51792-Bunneh-s-Flawless-Movie-Review-Thread/page214 We need to get you out to more movies heh.... I think this one still rolled along well for a Savage Sword of Conan movie. But as we know there is a big difference between those, which are master pieces in their own right, and say, the REH written story, which goes beyond Masterpiece on several levels. I'm starting to think, that it would be incredibly difficult to hit the REH material spot on. It's like trying to explain poetry to someone that doesn't like poetry. the BWS Visual stuff like the Savage Sword of Conan, THAT material can be nailed left and right. It's already in a visual format. Step in the right direction at least. Another 20 million or so woulda improved the flick. Someone smart needs to adjust the old Arnie flick for Inflation. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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