Conan the Destroyer

Rating: ***/*****, or 5/10

Mildly entertaining but ultimately underwhelming successor to the superior Conan the Barbarian (1982). The strong but silent warrior returns to the big screen as he is tasked by a ruthless queen to escort her young and beautiful niece to a faraway magic castle to find a jewel that can awaken the sleeping god, Dagoth, she worships. Together with a ragtag band of fellow warriors, Conan fights marauders, sorcery and demons along the way, while the princess falls in love with him. Little do both know she is destined to be a human sacrifice to the monstrous god, and there are those in the warriors' ranks who must ensure the girl will fulfill that destiny, even if it means killing Conan in the process. Though there's more intrigue in the story compared to its predecessor, it often gets in the way of the plan simple action people will expect from this film, while a PG rating, ill suited to the material (Barbarian was rated R after all), further restricts the fighting to such an extent it never gets beyond childish and mediocre. The effects are also not on par with the first film, though they still make for a decent dreamy level of quality that contributes to the overall sense of fantasy. Noted science fiction and fantasy director Richard Fleischer (20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Soylent Green (1973)) has been known to produce better fare than this, though it remains an interesting entry in his oeuvre. A third movie, which could have undone the flaws of this film, unfortunately never got beyond the planning stages of production. In order to still get his dose of fantasy acting, Schwarzenegger opted for a supporting role in the suspiciously similar Red Sonja the following year, ironically enough also directed by Fleischer.

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain

Directed by Richard Fleischer

USA: Dino De Laurentiis Company, 1984