Critic Reviews

Conan the Barbarian (1982) Rank 3 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Conan the Barbarian (1982) a score of 3.1402 out of 4

based on (57) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(19)

Very Good

(34)

Good

(3)

Fair

(1)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)

Arnold Schwarzenegger gets angry, mythical style, in John Milius' mighty "Conan the Barbarian". It may be over 20 years old now, but with the treatment it's getting on DVD, and talks of a new sequel, this film hasn't looked so exciting in years. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)

DVD Net (Vince Carrozza)

It's a little known fact that Arnold Schwarzenneger actually recorded two audio commentaries for Conan the Barbarian. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Net (Vince Carrozza)

DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)

Long before Arnold Schwarzeneggar played the low-key, lowlife in End of Days, he was playing comic-book heroes in the likes of Conan the Barbarian and it's sequal, Conan the Destroyer. At that time, Arnold was basically known for his body, basically he ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)

SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

The character of Conan the Barbarian was a creation of author Robert E. Howard. With his stirring and full-blooded writing, Robert E. Howard became one of the finest pulp adventure writers of the early 1930s. Conan the Barbarian was the most ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

MichaelDVD Region 4 (Rob Giles)

Firstly, I must say that judging by the placement of film artefacts and the like, this transfer is identical to the original release. This video transfer is good considering the age of the film, however the level of sharpness has not been improved at ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at MichaelDVD Region 4 (Rob Giles)

IOFilm

As well as the usual trailers and poster and design galleries there are a host of documentaries, including an hour long one that reunites all of the major players, discussing how the film came to be. For fans, this is un-missable stuff. Schwarzenneger ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at IOFilm

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!" When it comes to the great lines (and mottos) of cinema, it doesn't get much better than this. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

DVD Monsters and Critics (Andy McKeague)

Firstly, 'Conan The Barbarian' is a great slice of pulp. There is little difference to what was released before, so why go to the length of repackaging and re-releasing this movie in this edition ? What is new is the movie has now a DTS sound option, but ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Monsters and Critics (Andy McKeague)

Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)

A little over two decades later 'Conan' has aged decently, though the likes of "Xena" and "Lord of the Rings" have easily surpassed this sword-and-sorcery effort by such a margin it renders it somewhat moot. Nevertheless, John Milius for a good part ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)

DVD Lard - Region 2 Special Edition

Developed from the books of Robert E. Howard, this tells one of then tales of Conan the Cimmerian who, taken into slavery as a child when his village was destroyed and his parents murdered by raiders, is bent on vengeance and the destruction of those ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Lard - Region 2 Special Edition

Boxoffice Magazine

A film that has become far more legendary since its release than it really deserves to be, 1981's "Conan the Barbarian" has somehow earned a steady following of fans over the years. In the age of "Gladiator" it looks rougher and less sophisticated than ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

DVD Times

Conan the Barbarian begins as it means to go on; as incredibly cheesy spectacle. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Times

Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Ah, the early 'Eighties. Hollywood doesn't do violence and sex like they did back then. Take as example The Road Warrior. Or John Carpenter's The Thing. Or any teenage sex comedy back then. Notice how today's movies seldomly have any sex or violence in ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Not since Bambi's mother was killed has there been a cannier movie for kids than CONAN THE BARBARIAN. It's not supposed to be just a kids' movie, of course, and I imagine a lot of other ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Movie Reviews UK

A "swords & sorcery" epic certainly, but Conan the Barbarian succeeds where others fail with high production values, choice casting and a sly script. As with all of the best fantasy, the setting is a time in the distant past when life was simple, if ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Movie Reviews UK

A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)

The movie that really made Arnold Schwartzenegger famous, "Conan The Barbarian" took a leap off the printed page and onto the big screen. The 1982 film stared Arnold in the title role, a warrior walking around in a wild world of monsters and plenty of ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Even 17 years after its release, Conan the Barbarian still weaves a spell capable of ensorcelling fans of fantasy adventure. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

The Onion A.V. Club (Keith Phipps)

Though now impossible to imagine in hands other than Francis Ford Coppola's, Apocalypse Now once belonged to John Milius, the Red Dawn writer and director whose militarist sensibility would surely have resulted in a very different version had it been ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at The Onion A.V. Club (Keith Phipps)

DVD Review e-zine

For many fans of the "sword & sorcery" genre, "Conan the Barbarian" remains the benchmark film. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Review e-zine

Popcorn Pictures Review

The feature film to give Arnie his first leading role, Conan the Barbarian is complete pre-adolescent male entertainment. Big swords, lots of brutal violence, lashings of gore, females shedding clothes and then even more big swords, violence, gore and ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Popcorn Pictures Review

Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)

Before Arnold Schwarzenegger proved he could play a terminator with convincing realism, he had to flex his muscles as Conan. He's pretty stiff as the barbarian fated to lead a people, but he tries hard to make the comic book script by John Milius and ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)

DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)

...should appeal to most anyone with a bent for fantasy and swashbuckling derring-do. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)

Time Out

Big blokes, each seized by some grand costume fetish, hack divots out of each other with big broadswords. Deaths take for ever, years pass in a flash as our muscle-bound hero pursues his Quest for the Father (a villain who, delightfully, transmogrifies ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Time Out

DVD Town (John J. Puccio)

Everybody has to start somewhere. Big Arnold started in 1970 with "Hercules in New York," followed by a half dozen other films that got him known as a body builder, like "Stay Hungry" and "Pumping Iron," but just barely as an actor. His real break was ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Town (John J. Puccio)

filmcritic.com

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!" When it comes to the great lines (and mottos) of cinema, it doesn't get much better than this. Arnold Schwarzenegger's second most well-known role is a giddy and ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at filmcritic.com

Eccentric Cinema

Even before donning the dark shades and leather jacket of the Terminator, it was his role as Conan - the iron-thewed warrior of pulp writer Robert E. Howard's ripping fantasy yarns - that made Arnold Schwarzenegger an international movie star. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Eccentric Cinema

Mondo Digital

"What is best in life, Conan?" "To crush ya enemies, have them brought before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." Well, what else can you say about this one? John Milius' ultra-macho "guy movie" version of our primeval past was Arnold ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Mondo Digital

IOFilm

Surely you know that Conan The Barbarian is the film that truly put Arnie on the map. Before that all the great man was known for was being big and strong and for winning those competitions where you have to be big and strong. Sure, The Terminator ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at IOFilm

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Yes, it's Arnie's first breakthrough role, and one of his more memorable ones, as Robert E. Howard's literary creation comes to life in Conan the Barbarian. It's the early 80s, and a wildly popular role playing game called "Dungeons and Dragons" was ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Robert E. Howard's pulp Sword & Sorcery hero, well-known to generations of Marvel comic book readers, Conan The Barbarian (played perfectly by Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his earliest roles) makes it to the big screen. No comic book stuff here: ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)

I was seven years old when I first saw this film. I was shocked when I learned this, actually. I remember seeing it in the theater, but didn't realize that I was only seven. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)

I Viddied it on the Screen (Alex Jackson)

I'm not sure how I can adequately convey how disappointed I am in Conan the Barbarian. The film was directed and co-written by John Milius, based on Robert E. Howard's pulp stories. Milius wrote the original screenplay for Apocalypse Now. He intended it ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at I Viddied it on the Screen (Alex Jackson)

At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Conan the Barbarian has its share of redeeming qualities. It's got a good, if underused, villain in James Earl Jones, whose monologue on flesh and steel and snake arrows are fascinating, and it's got an inspired, if overused, soundtrack. So what's the ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at At-A-Glance Film Reviews

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