Conan the Barbarian

“Conan the Barbarian” tells of a man Conan (Jason Momoa) that goes on a bloody pursuit of the man who responsible for his father’s death. Having never seen the original “Conan…,” I was merely intrigued by the trailer, and that freed me from comparison woes. The film begins with a violent battle scene where Conan’s mother is slain while pregnant. She gives birth to a boy and with her dying breathe names him Conan. This gritty opening scene sets the stage for a very gritty and ruinous picture.

The acting is lacking, with little dialogue between characters, and, of that dialogue, almost none is good or worth repeating. However, one line does stand out. It went something like “We may be barbarians, but we don’t kill babies like other ‘civilized’ nations.” The way that line is phrased stuck out for obvious reasons. Not one acting performance stands out as great, but all seem to play their parts fine.

Content of concern

Number one is the violence; there is so much killing and bloody violence, it is nauseating. Second is the sorcery and paganism—very present and disturbing. The antagonist makes use of witchcraft, sorcery other pagan practices, in order to achieve great dark powers—a theme that runs rampant throughout the film. Third is the nudity and sexuality; there is quite a bit of bare breasted women, and there is one graphic sex scene. Language is minor to none; there’s what sounds like 1 use of the “s” word.

While watching one man’s quest for revenge and another man’s quest for power, two verses came to mind.

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord” —Romans 12:19.

When wronged, it is in our sin nature to seek vengeance, but the Bible commands us not to and reminds us that God will repay all wrong doing. The other verse is concerning pagans and witchcraft,

“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire [an ancient occult practice], or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination [detestable] to the LORD…” —Deuteronomy 18:9-12a.

After being wronged or losing someone we love, grief can lead people, even Christians, to be tempted to seek out other sources for answers, but it will only lead us into bondage, darkness and sin.

Overall, I do not recommend “Conan…,” it feels like a mish mash of “Prince of Persia” and “300”, but not as good. While the costumes and makeup are quite believable, the film is sometimes choppy and incoherent. Plus, when you add in the overt violence and nudity, it all adds to a skip it.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

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