Destroyer vs Barbarian
I for one liked Conan The Destroyer better.
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I certainly think this movie is underrated and a cool adventure yarn. Has a classical look to it.
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It manages to capture a mythical and magical ambience\atmosphere and does so, without any pre-tense or conceited aspirations. It appears to have been made with a positive spirit and sense of fun....in other words, it's heart and intentions, were in the right place.
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Those are the qualities which surprised me on watching this for the first time recently, especially having grown up on Barbarian.
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May I ask why you have only recently seen it, since you grew up on Barbarian? I couldn't wait to see this one, after being impressed with Barbarian, when it first came out.
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...seemed everyone made this film out to be some kind of babyish joke so I avoided it.........pleasantly surprised. I swear people hate on stuff just because of its rating or because of less violence.
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I have to admit, that I was sceptical due to the US 'PG' rating; but the overall end result was appealing, so I needn't have worried. It delivered the goods in the sword and sorcery action department and it still contained 'some' graphic violence; but of a fantastical and lightweight nature, compared to it's more intense predecessor. It was released about 6 months before the inception of PG13, so it would have likely garnered this rating, if it was around at the time.
It all worked marvellously and the film was well cast. I love watching it, just to see the bizarre and wonderful, feline sexy Grace Jones. The Dagoth creature, was awesome and scary too.
Destroyer, was released hot off the heels of, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Karate Kid, Star Trek III and opened with the release of Tom Hank's popular—at the time—Bachelor Party. It may not have held the same appeal of the other films mentioned and got lost in the shuffle. It did recoup it production cost of $18mill though and then some. Barbarian, was popular, but not exactly a huge smash either.
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The characters were very distinctive, probably my favorite part of the movie.....especially Arnie's sidekick (I forget his name).....simple but very effective......the supporting guys here were understated, well cast and likable.
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They were a motley crew, yet like you have mentioned, likeable and they all had a good chemistry with each other. Tracey Walter, is the actors name who played Malak. He was a total contrast to Conan physique wise, yet I think they shared a similar intellect and wit and made a bond\friendship, based on that.
This is what I enjoy about these 2 Conan films, the friendships and bonds that were made and shows how connections are important. All the protagonists had something useful to contribute to their little community and they looked out for each other. It is the warm 'simplicity' of this theme, that helps make it all work.
Red Dawn as well. That was some year for movies.
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'Red Dawn', was released a couple of weeks after Destroyer. Interesting, as this was the first cinematic release with a PG13 rating, that Destroyer escaped and rightfully deserved. If 'Conan The Destroyer' had been given this rating, then this might have helped the box office, as it would then have been touted as the first PG13 released. I wonder if this would have then affected the returns on RD?
You are correct, 84' was a good year for films. Most of the 80's were.
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