In ancient times, Conan (Jason Momoa), a Cimmerian, grows up with vengeance in his heart, having seen Khalar Zim (Stephen Lang) lay waste to his village and kill his father in his pursuit of a mystical mask with which he will subdue the whole world and resurrect his enchantress wife. He wants to become a god, you see, and he doesn’t care what he has to do get there.

*****

Conan was not well-received on its initial release and at the risk of skipping to the punchline in the first paragraph of my review, it’s easy to see why. It has some decent elements within it, such as a good sense of the viciousness, grimness and harshness of ancient life, some evocatively brutal fight scenes and in Jason Momoa a modest dose of charisma and some well-chiselled physicality. But, it’s not enough.

Conan was already an iconic figure before Arnie embodied him and although the Austrian Oak’s shortcomings as an actor are self-evident, he does have masses of screen presence. Though Momoa is a chunky guy, handy with a sword and possesses some sparkle, it is not nearly enough to propel the predictable and derivative narrative along. The rest of the actors are familiar to a degree (Ron Perlman as Conan’s father can do this sort of thing in his sleep and kind of does, Stephen Lang chews the scenery like it’s the elixir of life) but it all sort of looks and feels like The Scorpion King – too little genuinely compelling mythology, no explanation of the rules of the game when it comes to the supernatural elements, far too much box-ticking with the plot and in the end, nothing to make us care one way or another about what happens.

Director Marcus Nispel is fast-becoming type-cast as a director of unnecessary, lambasted and needlessly gory remakes (Texas Chainsaw and Friday the 13th were his too) and although it was noted above that a sense of the brutality of the ancient world was welcome, there are more subtle, intelligent and considered ways of doing that than having your lead character stick his finger two knuckles deep into the nasal cavity of an enemy, having already sliced his nose off in an earlier scene.

There are some energetic fight scenes, but the low budget and small cast of extras reveal some obvious shortcomings and ultimately it is hard to care about what happens. The script is pretty flat, the acting one-dimensional and the gore eventually tiresome. A great big waste of invaluable source material and a sad mis-handling of a project with big potential. You can rent it or buy it here from 12th December, but you probably won’t.

**~~~ (2/5)

Extras: Not bad, though hardly ground-breaking. All manner of contributors and experts wade in regarding the origins of Conan, from Robert E Howard’s pulp material, through Marvel, Arnie and later iterations, we then get a bit more on the development of this particular project and how they tried to build a sense of time and space with its own rules and mythology (spoiler alert – it didn’t really work). We also get some background on Robert E Howard himself, including the tragic revelation that he took his life at the age of 30, when faced with the prospect of his mother’s imminent death. She passed away the day after Howard took a gun to his head. There are brief featurettes on the staging of the action sequences and fight scenes and everyone contributes their tuppence-worth about how much fun it was and how hard Momoa worked. The commentaries were not available on the review disc, though there are to be two on the BD, one by the director Marcus Nispel and the other a two-hander with Momoa and co-star Rose McGowan. You can choose between the 2D and 3D versions as well, if that sort of thing is your bag.

***~~ (3/5)

To mark the release of Conan the Barbarian on Blu-ray, DVD and Download December 12th, we’ve been given three DVDs to give away courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment.

JASON MOMOA (Game of Thrones)  stars as the legendary hero Conan in a stunning new visualisation of the hugely popular fantasy character, coming to DVD and Blu-ray + DVD Double Play, PLUS DIGITAL DOWNLOAD on 12^th December.

Conan the Barbarian was born on the battlefield.  From those blood soaked beginnings, the fledgling warrior is destined to venture into an unforgiving world after his father is brutally murdered and his village destroyed. As he journeys through a world rife with terrifying monsters, sorcerers and bloodthirsty enemies, he chances upon Khalar Zym – the warlord responsible for his tribe’s destruction. And so Conan’s quest to avenge his father begins…

MOMOA heads up a cast which also includes RON PERLMAN (Hellboy) ROSE MCGOWAN (Planet Terror), and STEPHEN LANG (Avatar) in this sword-and-sorcery epic directed by Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13^th).

CONAN THE BARBARIAN is out on Blu-ray, DVD and Download to own on December 12 , courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply answer the follwoing question using the form below:

Who plays Conan the Barbarian in the 2011 version of the movie?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 19th December at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

I recently caught up with what I had assumed would be the final instalment of John Rambo’s adventures, the imaginatively titled “Rambo”. Like pretty much everyone else that has seen it, I was profoundly disappointed and hoped it would be a final nail in the coffin rather than a set of jump-leads for an attempted resuscitation. It seems it was the latter. For shame.

News comes to us today that Sean Hood, who scripted the Conan reboot, has not only drafted but also submitted to Millennium Films a script for Rambo: Last Stand. Apparently it is based on some notes, an older screenplay and a book that were handed to Hood last year by Sly himself. Further clarifying details are sadly not forthcoming, although it has been confirmed that none of the other ideas that previously did the rounds (sci-fi, Mexican cartel, prequel) is under consideration here, rather an attempted return to the small-town context of the first film.

Hood is quoted as follows, showing an admirable mix of realism and aspiration:-

As of now, I don’t know whether Mr Stallone will actually do it. Right now, as I understand it, he has his hands full with Bullet to the Head and Expendables 2. But Millennium films did hire me to complete the screenplay and realise his story, and my hope is that he’ll eventually be inspired to do one more Rambo film, with the tone of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.”

So what do you all think? Let sleeping dogs lie, wheel the leathery old vet out for one more round? I can’t see the point myself, but as Wesley Snipes once said in New Jack City, “Money talks, BS runs the marathon”. Which I’m sure is every bit as philosophical and inspirational as it sounds.

Anyway, Empire Online is the source for all of this, so thank you to them. As for whether the ever elusive greenlight will be greenlit, watch this space.

On Sunday morning I woke up bright, early and ever so bouncy to interview the positively charming Jason Momoa about his role in the new Conan the Barbarian movie (which I thoroughly enjoyed, you can check out my review here). I wandered into the hotel suite whilst the 6ft 5 actor was knocking back an orange juice before he apologised for not being able to shake my hand, or give me a kiss *swoon* because he wasn’t very well. So any extra huskiness in this video is all down to germs I’m afraid. Despite the man-flu Jason was a great sport (even when I accidentally called him a Hollywood honk rather than hunk! *face palm*) and told HeyUGuys all about playing a sword-swinging action hero, his favourite weapons on set and what he really thinks about horses…

Check out our interview with the man himself and click here to view the rest of our epic coverage!

Stand aside summer blockbusters and make way for Conan! Marcus Nispel, together with Millenium Films producers Les Weldon and Danny Lerner have reawakened a giant in the sword and sorcery fantasy genre by bringing the ultimate warrior and fictional archetype of unbridled masculinity into the 21st century. But even with a staggering $80 million budget behind it this barbarian has to cut quite a figure to escape John Milius’ original Conan shadow and truth be told as I waited for the bloodbath to begin my expectations were not high…

From the start the film-makers were looking to retell the Conan mythology in a way that incorporated the story and hero’s evolution since Robert E. Howard first introduced us to him in 1932 and the result is a surprisingly enjoyable romp through a beautifully realized Hyboria! Now if you don’t have a sense of humour or the stomach for outrageous violence then this isn’t the summer flick for you. However, if like me, you grew up on semi-mythological staples such as Xena Warrior Princess and you continue to revel in the heroics, the adventure and the slight  (essential) campness of it all then you’re definitely going to enjoy Conan the Barbarian in all its immense half-naked, 3D, sword-swinging action!

After a little historical exposition, from the get go the movie makes a blood-thirsty first impression as we are thrust immediately onto the battlefield where Conan is ripped from his dying warrior mother’s womb by his father Corin. The subsequent flash forward from barbarian conflict into Conan’s childhood amongst his Cimmerian tribesmen provides a brief but vital context for the warrior’s character as Nispel is quick to establish Conan as much more than a mindless, ferocious barbarian. Ron Perlman who, despite a lamentably small amount of screen time, offers an earnest and subtly melancholic performance as the tribe’s leader and Conan’s surviving parent as he teaches his son the importance of skill over savage enthusiasm and provides a testament to Conan’s gentler side. Jason Momoa was cast off the back of his role as Khal Drogo in HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones and proves himself as a very worthy Conan and highly watchable action hero. He is a charismatic protagonist with a commanding screen presence and lets face it, he’s not half bad to look at.

The plot is simple enough; an unspeakably evil man with an equally wicked plan writes off a young boy’s home village as collateral damage in his quest for power leaving the boy orphaned and vengeful. The boy grows into a man as well as an obscenely muscular and incredibly skilled warrior before fate and chance collide in order for the hero to stop the bad guy, save the girl and the known world from certain doom. However through a combination of intricately choreographed and stimulatingly located fight sequences, eye-catching scenery and well-manipulated CGI this same old story is jazzed up a considerable amount. Stephen Lang plays the big bad Khalar Zym with gusto but his villainous efforts are somewhat outshined by his witch daughter Marique. Then again, it’s difficult not to be upstaged by a scantily clad and exquisitely malevolent Rose McGowan with daddy issues and a taste for the blood of beautiful virgins. Between her sultry witchcraft, sand zombies and huge monsters there’s definitely a little something for everyone to enjoy.

On the whole, the movie is a lot of fun and I’d go as far as to say it’s a must see.  It has tried very hard to meet the challenge of updating an epic pop culture icon without losing any of that raw, wild adventure that is synonymous with Conan’s world. Sadly I was left very unconvinced by leading lady Rachel Nichols and not through any real fault of her own. Her character Tamara is a poorly realized independent woman who never really gets the chance to satisfy her potential. Despite handling herself impressively well in various perilous situations Tamara suddenly cancels this progress out with an unfathomably clumsy fighting technique or an unnecessary scream for Conan to rescue her. Regardless of this Nichols is a beautiful woman and she has a fantastic set of lungs on her, not quite Fay Wray but not bad either.

An unfulfilled heroine and a somewhat anticlimactic ending aside, Conan is still a sexy, colossal and violently entertaining rampage through Robert E. Howard’s original mythology. The Cimmerian himself is a refreshingly modern and relatable hero endowed with passion, a roguish sense of justice and the courage of his own convictions. Visually the movie strikes a fairly original and diverse chord and although I only saw the 2D version I can safely imagine that 3D adds a substantial kick to the experience. If you’re a fan of good old-fashioned action entertainment then I recommend ending your summer on a high and seeing Conan the Barbarian. Kick off your flip -flops and enjoy some toe-curlingly graphic sword and sorcery with plenty of oomph.

****~ (4/5)

A new picture has landed online for Lionsgate’s upcoming reboot of the Conan franchise: Conan the Barbarian (in 3D).

Orphaned when his village is destroyed and his father killed, Conan (Jason Momoa – who, like, nearly died a bunch of times) wanders a path of “wanton adventure and women”, surviving as a thief, a pirate and a warrior. Chancing upon the man responsible for his predicament, Conan must overcome monsters, henchmen and a powerful witch if he is to achieve revenge on the warlord Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang).

The image depicts Ron Perlman as blacksmith and father Corin, and Leo Howard as a young Conan.

Source: ComicBookMovie.com

Lionsgate have released this new UK red band trailer which is rather violent and definitely NSFW! It basically shows people getting killed in various nasty ways which is a small taster of what we can expect from the brand new version of Conan the Barbarian.

The movie is a reboot of the movie made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the books by Robert E. Howard. It’s directed by Marcus Nispel and stars Jason Momoa as the lead character alongside Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman , Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa and Saïd Taghmaoui.

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

Conan the Barbarian is released in the UK August 24th.

Lionsgate have released another new poster for Conan the Barbarian 3D. The movie is a reboot of the movie made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the books by Robert E. Howard. It’s directed by Marcus Nispel and stars Jason Momoa as the lead character alongside Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa and Saïd Taghmaoui.

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

Ignore the date on the poster as Conan the Barbarian is released in the UK August 24th. You can find out more on the UK Conan Facebook page.

This poster follows the brand new UK trailer which was released a few days ago.

Source: Fandango

Conan the Barbarian 3D

Lionsgate have just sent over a nice new trailer for the UK release of Conan, a reboot of the movie made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the books by Robert E. Howard. It’s directed by Marcus Nispel and stars Jason Momoa as the lead character alongside Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa, Saïd Taghmaoui

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

Conan is released in the UK August 24th. You can find out more on the UK Conan Facebook page.

More swords and leather loinclothes today as Marcus Nispel’s Conan the Barbarian 3D stands on the cinematic horizon, ready to leap into action on the 26th of August and from the look of these new pics, it’s a handsome looking affair.

Jason Momoa continues to look all kinds of intimidating and there’s a good look at Stephen Lang as Khalar Zym, and if you’ve not seen the trailers (including a red band version which earns it’s restricted status) then click here and go crazy.

It’s a 3D movie so expect pointy things and incoming decapitations.

Gallery ahoy,

Cinema Blend pointed us to Fantasy.Fr who released these into the wild.

Last on Friday, Lionsgate released this brand new red band trailer for Conan the Barbarian 3d was released. I was going to put it up then but I wanted everyone in the UK to see it so it had to wait till now! Conan the Barbarian is a reboot of the movie made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the books by Robert E. Howard. It’s directed by Marcus Nispel and stars Jason Momoa as the lead character alongside Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa , Saïd Taghmaoui

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

If you’ve not see the trailer for the movie, you can check it out here. The release date which falls on August 24th and will be in 3d. If you missed our extended interview with Jason Momoa, you can also see that right here!

Please note, this is a red band trailer therefore NSFW.

Source: IGN

Sticking your foot into the Conan story in order to reboot it inevitably involves a fresh lick of paint and this Jason Momoa fronted take on Robert E. Howard’s famous barabarian has a very clear 21st century visual identity, as is displayed very clearly in this new TV Spot.

The swift montage of pecs and perms show off the CG infused money shots which are certain to puncuate the film, but Momoa does have something about him that gives Marcus Nispel’s film the much needed personality. Certainly Momoa doesn’t have to worry about people comparing him unfavourably to Arnold Schwarzenegger now…

Here’s the spot, balls and all. The film is out in the UK on the 24th of August in all kinds of 3D.

This one came all the way here tonight from the sunny climes of Coming Soon!

Lionsgate have just sent over these five great new new character posters which give us a good look at Conan, Tamara, Corin, Mariqu and Khalar Zym. Further to these, UGO have a nice new 3d motion version last week which was on our list to get posted and this seemed like the perfect time. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to view.

Conan the Barbarian is a reboot of the movie made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the books by Robert E. Howard. It’s directed by Marcus Nispel and stars Jason Momoa as the lead character alongside Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa, Saïd Taghmaoui

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

If you’ve not see the trailer for the movie, you can check it out here. The release date which falls on August 24th and will be in 3d. If you missed our extended interview with Jason Momoa, you can also see that right here!

Here’s a nice new shiny poster for the UK release of Conan, a reboot of the movie made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the books by Robert E. Howard. It’s directed by Marcus Nispel and stars Jason Momoa as the lead character alongside Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa, Saïd Taghmaoui

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

If you’ve not see the trailer for the movie, you can check it out here. It’s a shame that the poster is a re-hash of it’s US counterpart but at least it gives us the release date which falls on August 24th and will be in 3d. If you missed our extended interview with Jason Momoa, you can also see that right here!

Click the poster below to make it GROW!

When you get invited for cocktails with a 6’4 Hawaiian actor/model, how can you possibly do anything except swoon and meep “yes, please!”

This is how, on the evening of 10th May I found myself clutching a glass of white wine and staring across the room as Conan the Barbarian aka Jason Momoa pushed a strand of his long curly hair out of his tanned face while every girl (and some of the guys) sighed in appreciation.

Not many actors are willing to donate hours of their time to talk to, arm wrestle, and have their picture taken with journalists. Jason Momoa, however, managed it with ease and a smile on his face, spending hours of his evening making an effort to talk to as many people as he could from the long line of people queuing up to find out about his upcoming film Conan the Barbarian, his work in Game of Thrones, and his workout routine.

Conan the Barbarian, distributed by Lionsgate Pictures, is set to be released on 24th August. The film intends to reboot and rebuild the 1980s franchise which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and if anyone can fill his shoes, it certainly seems like Jason Momoa is the man to do that.

Check out our interview with Jason talking all things Conan here.

Click the images below to enlarge.

Find out more on Conan on the official Facebook page.

After four remakes/reboots in a row (including this summer’s Conan the Barbarian) Marcus Nispel’s next feature will not only be an original story, but it’s also based on his own idea.

Entitled Backmask (and budgeted at a relatively low $10 million), little is known about the project, apart from the director revealing that is will feature “paranoia, possession and the paranormal.” Hmmm.

Nispel is a veteran of over 1000 commercials and music videos, a number of which have garnered him a variety of awards over the years. His film work his brought him less success (both Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were produced under Michael Bay’s creatively-stilted Platinum Dunes banner) so the opportunity to work on something he’s devised himself must very alluring.

Via Deadline

MTV have released a nice new batch of images of upcoming movies this summer and we’ll show you each one in a series of posts over the next few days.

Title: Conan the Barbarian

Director: Marcus Nispel

Cast: Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Jason Momoa, Saïd Taghmaoui

Synopsis: A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

UK Release date: 19th August

Trailer: Click here to view

The new remake of Conan the Barbarian stars Jason Momoa as the lead character made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger alongside Stephen Lang, Bob Sapp, Leo Howard, Ron Perlman, Said Taghmaoui, and is directed by Marcus Nispel. Conan is based on the stories by Robert E. Howard written in 1932.

A brand new website for the movie went live last night and the Lionsgate have released this nice new motion poster  for the movie which is released 19th August.

Crom will be looking down from the heavens with a smile on his face when he gets wind of this news.

Lionsgate, the studio behind the new version of Robert E. Howard’s iconic sword and sorcery creation, has thankfully changed the title Conan 3D back to its original of ‘Conan the Barbarian’.

No explanation of the change is given by Coming Soon, but I’d like to believe it was because the studio realised the title was completely unimaginative, but also by calling it that, it would cheapen this well-established and respected property.

Directed by Marcus Nispel, the fantasy adventure, in which Stargate Atlantis cast member Jason Momoa will be filling those very big shoe left by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is due for released in the UK on the 19 August next year.

The chief executive of Paradox Entertainment (Fredrik Malmberg) has revealed in an interview with www.Fantasy.fr that a new Kull movie is going into production.

For those who are unaware Kull is the first character created by Robert E. Howard (father of the sword and sorcery fantasy sub-genre) back in 1929. Kull is in fact a precursor to Howard’s most popular character Conan the Barbarian. After Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to return for a third Conan movie back in the ’90s, the proposed film was reworked into the awful Kull the Conqueror starring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys).

This announcement comes as no surprise as Paradox Entertainment own the licenses to most of Howard’s characters (the only exclusion being Red Sonya) and currently have four films based on these characters set for release over the next few years. These are Solomon Kane, Vultures, Conan, and Conan: Red Nails (animated). Hopefully this time around the Kull film does justice to the character.