“Conan the Barbarian” Movie Trailer Review

“Conan the Barbarian”

Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

No one goes into a movie entitled “Conan the Barbarian” expecting subtle, nuanced drama. Fans of this rebooted franchise want nothing more than to see a muscular maniac attacking countless enemies, and from the looks of this latest trailer, that is exactly what they will get. We can’t really call whether or not it will be an entertaining film—it’s always easy to cut together a trailer featuring dozens of action scenes and make it look exciting—but we can say that it’s heading in the right direction.

Visually, the filmmakers appear to have taken a cue from Zack Snyder’s “300.” The world of this movie is abundant in computer-generated images, but rather than trying to incorporate them realistically into the film, those involved have decided to embrace the surreal quality that is sometimes unavoidable when actual sets are augmented with animated backdrops. While this visual style takes away from the grit of the original movies, it contributes to sense of fantasy pervading the story, and for some, that may be a good thing.

Of course, this genre isn’t for everyone. Movies like “Lord of the Rings” were able to deliver some truly thrilling fantasy action sequences, but at their core, they were driven by strong emotion. “Conan” doesn’t exactly look like it will be very heartwarming, but if you need to spend a night at the movies replenishing your testosterone, we suppose you could do worse.