Conan the Barbarian - 1 frown

I fail to understand why studios continue to reboot movies that don’t need re-doing unless you’re going to take the time to write a solid script that develops both story and character and cast competent actors. The original 1982 Conan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, set a low bar, but the current remake, starring Jason Mamoa, doesn’t even compare to that. Director Marcus Nispel’s latest version fails to build any emotional involvement for the audience, but that might be a lot to ask for this bloody mess. Add to that stilted acting, a weak script and lots of gratuitous violence and you’ve got a loser of a movie. After Morgan Freeman’s introductory narrative, it’s all downhill although Jason Mamoa is effective as eye candy and Ron Perlman (as Conan’s father) and Stephen Lang (as the villain) seem to be having fun. I’d say wait for cable, but that might be too much of a recommendation. 9/21/11