This is the follow up to the first film in the series, “Conan the Barbarian”. It introduced some new characters, a couple of which, notably, were played by Grace Jones, and Wilt Chamberlain. What can I say, I loved this film. It had a great soundtrack like the first one and it was a continuation of the Conan storyline. Unlike the first one, I watched this one in high definition, a much-needed improvement. I would add the fighting scenes were also much improved in this one, although they were not without their faults. There was a nice sword fight scene in which Conan, flexes his muscles and strikes many a pose before killing the bad guy. There was a funny scene where Conan was swung around by his feet, which was highly entertaining. I don’t know what it is, I think maybe, these films remind me of my childhood since I was a freshman in high school when this film was released. It also reminds me of my D&D playing days, which were also filled with much fantasy role-playing. I do like fantasy, but obviously not all fantasy. I like that this film included major female heroin and resident bada$$, probably the first film I had ever seen her in. I am of course thinking of Grace Jones. She was fierce. She was skinny but in shape. Although like Conan, she did not have a lot of dialog but didn’t need to. Her actions spoke volumes. Wilt’s character was also very limited in dialog, but it was interesting to see an NBA superstar playing alongside Arnold. You could draw the similarity between this and when Kareem Abdul Jabar was fighting alongside Bruce Lee back in the day. I forgot to mention, keeping in line with the fantasy in the film, there was also sorcery. The special effects by today’s standards were terrible, almost comedic. I also very much enjoyed the soundtrack, which was vital for my enjoyment. In the end, I felt bad for Conan, with a promise not fulfilled, the love of his life not brought back from the dead, he must push forward with life. The story continues.
Highly recommended.
*****
