If you were to see Conan The Destroyer at the cinema when it came out. You went away thinking it was a better movie. Probably for the budget and it was more flashy. But when you watch them now, Conan The Barbarian is obviously the best and a classic. Destroyer is still a guilty pleasure.
As much as the first movie fascinated me as a kid with James earl jones and the tree of agony and whatnot I was equally as fascinated by grace jones alone in this movie
Not so. They have their strengths and weaknesses. I grew up watching both movies. It does seem popular to say that Barbarian is way better and Destroyer sucks. I think because destroyer was a disappointment at the box office in 1984, people have it in their mind that it's terrible.
@@CordeliaWagner don’t get me wrong. The destroyer was still decent, in a B movie kind of way. Plus the fight between him and Umbata towards the end was cool, but overall the first movie was just better.
It's tragic we don't get more Conan content on screen. It's such a great property. Fun fact: if you watch the scene on the boat closely, Conan keeps knocking Malic on the head with the oar.
When I was a kid I liked The Destroyer more than Barbarian. However as I got older I realized how perfect Barbarian is. Still one of my favorite movies.
Dude, Roger Ebert liked Destroyer way more than Barbarian, which he thought was boring. It's so nuts, Conan the Barbarian really is perfect. The original Conan stories predate the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, which I think gets overlooked. The marvel Conam comics from the 70s are my favorite, they add in stuff from other Robert E Howard stories and add their own bits while keeping to the spirit of the original.
@@AliceBowieGene Siskel didn't like Destroyer and much preferred the original. He also wished there was more time spent with Conan and Zula's (Grace Jones) friendship. That also would've been interesting.
Wanting to turn Conan into a kid friendly franchise thinking that it will increase takings, shows how clueless boardroom movie bosses were and still are. Like if they tried to turn Alien or Predator into being kid friendly, it KILLS the franchise rather than makes it better by driving away the audience it was originally intended for, whilst ironically kids are more interested in the adult nature of the original movie.
The sense of gravity delivered for all it's simplicity is why it would have a sway with kids and adults. As opposed to the sequel that's just a straight forward adventure. Just that one speech at the beginning alone about how the sword is the one thing you can trust in the world carries so much more than the sequel.
@@motherplayer Yes, by making it kid friendly it lost all of its gravitas that the original movie was built on. Without its adult seriousness it couldn't support itself. As the movie "Big" points out, most adults forget what it's like to be kids, and as a result think they need wrapping up in cotton wool. Kids don't want to be patronised, and it's been a long proven fact that most kids like to be scared a bit. Of course you can go too far and show them a slasher horror movie, but kids (especially boys) like things like Conan the Barbarian, Aliens, and Predator, because it makes them feel like adults. I saw the original Conan as a kid and I loved it, and still love it! Same with Aliens, Predator and RoboCop (another one they f***ed up by making its sequel kid friendly). They aged well because the makers didn't think about ratings, but rather about the quality of the movie they were making.
Toning down the violence and serious philosophical themes was a mistake. Although considering that this was pre-Temple of Doom PG, it still has some content not suitable for small children.
By Crom! The score to Conan the Barbarian is a Wagner-like epic masterpiece. The Destroyer has some nice pieces, but not as many and not the stunning ones on the first film. Contender for the best and most fitting film soundtrack.
Badass films to watch during that age. Temple of Doom, although definitely not as dark, was one of my favorite films to rewatch on VHS over and over again as a kid. Found a lot more appreciation for it as an adult as well. Sometimes I wish I could’ve lived through the 80s and watch these epics on the big screen.
Arnold Conan is the one long awaited sequel that I have wanted for the last 23 years. A King Conan teams up with his granddaughter for one last adventure story would be the perfect finale movie for the Austrian Oak. It could be his The Shootist or Unforgiven.
Possibly one of the most entertaining things to come out of this movie is the behind the scenes photo of Arnold with Andre the Giant and Wilt . Arnold looks tiny between the two.
It's "wore his crown upon a troubled brow" actually. And he wasn't playing a character "similar to Conan" in Red Sonja - he WAS playing Conan. "Kalidor" was the name Conan used when he wanted to walk incognito with the common people.
I have Deathstalker on DVD, and yes, it was heavily influenced by Conan, which is likely why I love it the way I do. I like BOTH Conan movies, and I'm just glad that I was under 18 at the time, so "having the hots for Olivia D'Abo" wasn't as creepy as it would have been were I over 18. Let's be honest, she was a cutie and a half. But we really didn't know she was only 14 (she sure as Hell didn't look 14 in that movie) at the time. I think most of us assumed she was at least 17 or 18. Remember, we didn't have the internet in 1984. But "Conan the Destroyer" was indeed a fun movie, and it still is. I enjoy a lot of movies from that genre, and we played Dungeons and Dragons back then, even after it was banned in schools. That genre just sparks the imagination, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Glad T2 managed to keep the R rating as well. Cameron definitely knew he had the chops for sequels after Aliens so the tone shift paid off. Thank god they ended the series after T2… Such a fitting ending… Hollywood made the right choice to let it end… 😂😂😂
Destroyer deserves a lot more respect than it's given. The cast, cinematography, and comedy made a lot of sense. Brutes have wit too. Plus, the commitment of actors back them to train to fight, horse ride, and do their own stunts for a small fee deserves more respect. No one goes to watch a fantasy action movie for the acting Destroyer is camp, violent, and pg enough for all to watch and find something to like
"Destroyer is camp, violent, and pg enough for all to watch and find something to like" That's kind of the problem with the movie. It couldn't figure out what it actually wanted to be. If it really focused down on being something in particular, it could have done it much better. All the potential is there. Skilled actors, special effects, decent stunt work, etc, etc. Take the comedy angle for example. Nothing wrong with some comedy in even the most serious movie. That being said compare the lighthearted humor from destroyer to the dark humor in total recall. Total recall's sense of humor didn't clash with the movie. That's how you do it. It wasn't a bad movie IMHO. Just not a great one either.
@@ColonelSandersLiteTotal Recall was perfect. The funniest scene in a non comedy is Arnold using an innocent man as a human shield. The bad guys really spend a lot of bullets trying to get Arnold who sought refuge behind Somme John do who was probably coming home from a long days work.
Just find the Conan and Red Sonja fanedit. It's a Red Sonja fanedit that serve as the third Conan movie where Kalidor is now Conan. Lots of changes were made to improve the movie too.
I liked it a lot as a kid, mostly because it was more of a party of adventurers. Yeah the first one he had some followers, but here I feel like his companions do more things and prove their worth. Plus I think I seen this one first when I was a kid. I didn't have cable, but this was on regular tv a lot, so I ended up seeing this one first. Barbarian is probably a little better, but this one I enjoyed quite a bit at the time.
You can enjoy it for what it is. 1980's action sword and sorcery schlock. But the 82 film is probably the best fantasy movie every (I think far better than those LOTR films). The real heart behind the 82 film was John Milius. Red Dawn was the same thing... superficial action schlock, but really deep brilliant story telling underneath. And often misunderstood films. Two of my absolute favorite movies from growing up in the 80s.
I saw this on television in the late 80s before seeing the original. Yes the original is far superior, but this one still has a special place to me. It has some good moments. The very end with the Dagoth creature was what kind of ruined it.
Contender for worst film creature since the 50's B-movies? By contrast, I thought the swordfight with the magician/monster in the room of mirrors was quite inventive. Fun overall, but flawed.
I'd say them making it kid friendlier worked lmao as I was a kid when I saw it and got me into it 🤣👍 though flawed compared to the original, that score for Destroyer was EPICNESS!
I know it's an unpopular opinion, but as a child in the 80's, "Destroyer" was better than the slower paced "Barbarian" original. This one came on more often too on cable at that time.
I'm pretty sure I watched The Destroyer before The Barbarian, so I never thought of the tonal shift. I enjoy both movies for what they are, but I can understand why some hated the sequel.
Milius not returning, a script not written by Oliver Stone, and a desire for a lighter tone in order to make an action figure for the toy market are the three things that killed this movie.
Remember when I was a kid and convinced my mom to rent Conan the Barbarian thinking it was the Destroyer, and that I’d seen it many times. Found out pretty quickly that they were very different movies 😬😅
Destroyer is fun. The tonal change is a little much though, especially if you don't know what you're getting into. Did NOT know Olivia was 14 at the time, I mean I figured she was young, but not that young. That's pretty yikes, but at least they have Arnie's Conan turn her down. Grace Jones was so intense, and yes badass. She probably is my favourite character as well, except for maybe Conan himself. The queen getting _penetrated_ by Dagoth's _horn,_ moaning, and then collapsing on Dagoth seemed like deliberate innuendo to me by the by. Knowing that there was a cut scene involving her getting a bit more excited about the statue makes me extra certain it was deliberate. I wonder if JoBlo will ever cover Kull the Conqueror, the Kevin Sorbo adventure. I think it's set in the same universe as Conan, though I think a long time before?
Tracy Walter was in a movie in the mid-nineties called Drive with Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison where he plays another henchman but he's totally hilarious.
Conan The Destroyer is a movie you can air in the morning or afternoon on cable. I think they should've kept the tone of the original movie. A rare instance where the studio is wrong about a project.
Both movies were better by far than the remake..... since I was a young kid I have been hoping the Arnold would get another Conan movie where he found his own kingdom and wore the jeweled crown of aquilonia upon a troubled brow
Moral of the story is there was plenty of diversity in film, and strong female leads 40+ years ago. Only difference is now the films are patronising about it.
It seems to be the unpopular opinion, but _'Conan the Destroyer'_ is my favourite of the two. Also, I kinda also prefer _'Red Sonja',_ over _'Conan the Barbarian',_ too. 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah, Barbarian is by far the better movie - hell, maybe the 2nd best fantasy movie(s) made after LOTR - but Destroyer is fun if you come at it as the best of the Conan knockoffs. It's at least got a lot more production value than something like Deathstalker, and aside from the annoying thief, at least the characters are entertaining.
I loved both conan movies equally........ I love CTB for how dark and just visceral it is... and I love CTD because it feels like a dungeons and dragons game . I'm actually happy that they didnt just retread the first one and had a touch more comedic elements to it.
As a Robert E. Howard Conan film, The Destroyer is....lackluster. As a comic book version of the character, its fun on a bun. I see The Destroyer as more of a He-Man film. It's pure 80s fantasy goodness imo. Filled with strong production values and beasties - on its own terms it's a great time.
To me it was cornier especially with his comic relief thief friend. Plus the film seemed too clean and clear compared to how the first one was shot which looked grittier. The music score didn’t help either.
With the resurgence of the ARPG video game genre like Diablo which was heavily inspired by this series, I would love one more Conan film starring Arnold.
I've always enjoyed this one, and I originally liked this better than the first because it had more magic n' monsters than the original(and Grace Jones!), but upon re-watching I thought some of the dialogue and acting weren't too great. I still really enjoy it though, and I love the Queen Taramis character and Dagoth.
I had the double Conan feature DVD. Listening to the commentary with Milius and Arnold Schwarzenegger I caught a unintentionally funny moment when Arnold says I can't wait to make a second one. The Milius was like, you mean a 3rd? Oh, uh yeah. Destroyer meant so little to Arnold he forgot he made it.
This movie is one of many on going examples of what happens when studios begin to meddle with zero business. Decades later they continue to f-up perfectly good movies.
Loved this movie as a kid and i still do. At that time I loved these characters. I wasn't bothered about diversity. Because they simply were great characters. Why even mention it? But thank you for mentioning the comic boom which I bought this week. Didn't know andre the giant played the monster. Super entertaining movie 🎬
There was diversity in the first film. Let's not forget that James Earl Jones played the villain responsible for destroying Conan's Village and killing his family.
I absolutely love these videos. Fun fact: Tracey Walter also played in "Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann" not to be confused with the football player Lynn Swann. 😆 He plays a character named "Frog". It's a sidekick-esque character. Maybe one of your guys over there at Joblo can review it!
Well, the original was an epic adventure of heroic qualities and was of course thus truly epic. This one was probably the best and funniest rpg like fantasy movie ever.
The 80s Conan influence wasn't just in movies like Death Stalker or Ator (or its sequel, MST classic Cave Dwellers). See also Rastan, Golden Axe and He-Man. Also, Thomas and Conway had been doing largely all-ages stories for Conan for YEARS at this point (it was a code-approved book in most cases, heck he even teamed up with Spider-Man), the difference was Conan was always a serious character. That's where this one kinda loses me. It's still better than all the various imitators.
While The Barbarian is better, the sequel is still a decent movie. It's shit on way too much. It's still a good 80s sword-and-sorcery flick and people need to see that
As a kid, even still today 30 years later....the second movie always stood out to me the most because of the beautiful princess and the freaky as hell looking mask used in the mirror room scene
Marvel comics brought Robert e Howard's characters to life for many years before the movies came along Conan kull red sonya Kane are all awesome characters but the movies were good Arnold and Kevin did a great job with these characters and Jackman did a good job with Solomon Kane and the red sonya movie was good too
Obviously not as supérior to Barbarian which is a film that stands on its own. Destroyer is more kid friendly, yes, but still more edgier than other Fantasy films with it's tone and story. Although Barbarian kickstarted the genre, Destroyer is the one all these other spin off films comparé itself to That said, the film has great production design which resembles a lot of comic book pages The cast is incredible to match Arnold in Grace Jones, Wilt the Stilt, Sarah Douglas and getting Andre the Giant to play Dagoth? When the Dagoth monster begins to move still creeps me the hell out.
I think it's telling that every memorable quote in the entire franchise came from the original "Conan the Barbarian." Also, the way the original film combined action sequences with music, narration and minimal dialog makes it stand out from other fantasy and action films. ..... "Conan the Destroyer" isn't a bad movie. It's much better than "Red Sonia" or that horrible remake with Jason Mamoa, but it never came close to the quality of original.
It had more to do with making movies at the time more "Family Friendly". This was supposed to be more acclimatized to the public pressure of making movies less offensive.
This video was done well and I agree with many of it's criticisms. Conan The Barbarian had set a very high bar in my opinion that to even equal it's mood and quality was obviously very difficult. Even the soundtrack is very pale by comparison. It never occured to that The Destroyer had a different film rating until it was brought to our attention here. I mean it is obvious from the beginning of the film that they were seeking a slightly different audience, which is where the film begins to suffer in my opinion. Much the same as in Thor Ragnarok. Comedy should not have a place in stories of these two characters.
@JoBlo Originals Dude, its pronounced 'maako' soft 'a'. Not like the shark. We'd been pronouncing it WRONG for years. Please respect the man and say it correctly.
"Conan and Company seems like an amazing kids show" Me: (singing) Conan...The Adventurer... Conan...Warrior without Fear... He's more powerful than any man, He's made his way across the land and seas... 😅😅😅😅
She's done a good job at not sounding like Mort from family guy. What was once an ocean of saliva, is now a river, but you still hear it. Just give your scripts to someone else to read, your content is solid.
I slways hoped their’d do the Groo the Wanderer comics in live action. I also believe Steven Seagal would be perfectly cast as Groo. As Seagal seems to be that sort of charactor in real life lol.
If you were to see Conan The Destroyer at the cinema when it came out. You went away thinking it was a better movie. Probably for the budget and it was more flashy. But when you watch them now, Conan The Barbarian is obviously the best and a classic. Destroyer is still a guilty pleasure.
Also, the tone was Lighter & Softer.
As much as the first movie fascinated me as a kid with James earl jones and the tree of agony and whatnot I was equally as fascinated by grace jones alone in this movie
Not so. They have their strengths and weaknesses. I grew up watching both movies. It does seem popular to say that Barbarian is way better and Destroyer sucks. I think because destroyer was a disappointment at the box office in 1984, people have it in their mind that it's terrible.
I saw this at the movies and trust me, it was no comparison to CtB
@@michaelwills1926 it's better.
I rewatched both of these recently. Conan the barbarian is far superior to the destroyer.
The monster is pretty bad for a monster.
I watch the movie like twenty times.
@@CordeliaWagner don’t get me wrong. The destroyer was still decent, in a B movie kind of way. Plus the fight between him and Umbata towards the end was cool, but overall the first movie was just better.
I've watched Conan The Barbarian 3 times..this year. Can't count how many times I've watched it since the first time I watched it in the early 90's
I can't watch Destroyer again. It's just bad.
It's tragic we don't get more Conan content on screen. It's such a great property.
Fun fact: if you watch the scene on the boat closely, Conan keeps knocking Malic on the head with the oar.
XD i went and did it! hahahahahahaha
How fitting. Malak was a useless coward.
When I was a kid I liked The Destroyer more than Barbarian. However as I got older I realized how perfect Barbarian is. Still one of my favorite movies.
Same
Agree 100%
Dude, Roger Ebert liked Destroyer way more than Barbarian, which he thought was boring. It's so nuts, Conan the Barbarian really is perfect. The original Conan stories predate the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, which I think gets overlooked. The marvel Conam comics from the 70s are my favorite, they add in stuff from other Robert E Howard stories and add their own bits while keeping to the spirit of the original.
Same!
@@AliceBowieGene Siskel didn't like Destroyer and much preferred the original. He also wished there was more time spent with Conan and Zula's (Grace Jones) friendship. That also would've been interesting.
Wanting to turn Conan into a kid friendly franchise thinking that it will increase takings, shows how clueless boardroom movie bosses were and still are. Like if they tried to turn Alien or Predator into being kid friendly, it KILLS the franchise rather than makes it better by driving away the audience it was originally intended for, whilst ironically kids are more interested in the adult nature of the original movie.
The sense of gravity delivered for all it's simplicity is why it would have a sway with kids and adults. As opposed to the sequel that's just a straight forward adventure. Just that one speech at the beginning alone about how the sword is the one thing you can trust in the world carries so much more than the sequel.
@@motherplayer Yes, by making it kid friendly it lost all of its gravitas that the original movie was built on. Without its adult seriousness it couldn't support itself. As the movie "Big" points out, most adults forget what it's like to be kids, and as a result think they need wrapping up in cotton wool. Kids don't want to be patronised, and it's been a long proven fact that most kids like to be scared a bit. Of course you can go too far and show them a slasher horror movie, but kids (especially boys) like things like Conan the Barbarian, Aliens, and Predator, because it makes them feel like adults. I saw the original Conan as a kid and I loved it, and still love it! Same with Aliens, Predator and RoboCop (another one they f***ed up by making its sequel kid friendly). They aged well because the makers didn't think about ratings, but rather about the quality of the movie they were making.
Blame Dino
If it was less vulgar than I meant that have seen it.
Toning down the violence and serious philosophical themes was a mistake. Although considering that this was pre-Temple of Doom PG, it still has some content not suitable for small children.
I like Basil Poledouris' score.
The score of both films underrated
Yes plus he did RoboCop!
By Crom! The score to Conan the Barbarian is a Wagner-like epic masterpiece. The Destroyer has some nice pieces, but not as many and not the stunning ones on the first film. Contender for the best and most fitting film soundtrack.
Asked my wife for Conan the barbarian soundtrack in vinyl, but got the distroyer instead. Did not have the heart to tell her.
@@Halflionhalffox ouch
Sarah Douglas was great at playing a villain. She had the right amount of arrogance.
"If your going to learn how to fight learn with a real weapon, not with a toothpick."
I had my Arnold Schwarzenegger phase in Kindergarten and the Conan movies were two of my favourites!
Badass films to watch during that age. Temple of Doom, although definitely not as dark, was one of my favorite films to rewatch on VHS over and over again as a kid. Found a lot more appreciation for it as an adult as well. Sometimes I wish I could’ve lived through the 80s and watch these epics on the big screen.
Grace Jones was awesome in this movie.
A Total Fierce Badass.
That shot of him on the throne always gets me, maybe I can have my own kingdom
“He wore a crown upon a troubled brow…”
Arnold Conan is the one long awaited sequel that I have wanted for the last 23 years. A King Conan teams up with his granddaughter for one last adventure story would be the perfect finale movie for the Austrian Oak. It could be his The Shootist or Unforgiven.
Dude, I am soooo with you on that. It'd be so cool to a Conan legacy movie with him. 🥺
Possibly one of the most entertaining things to come out of this movie is the behind the scenes photo of Arnold with Andre the Giant and Wilt . Arnold looks tiny between the two.
It's "wore his crown upon a troubled brow" actually. And he wasn't playing a character "similar to Conan" in Red Sonja - he WAS playing Conan. "Kalidor" was the name Conan used when he wanted to walk incognito with the common people.
I consider Red Sonya the unofficial sequel to Conan The Destroyer...
@@caronstout354 It was supposed to be, but I think there was some issues with obtaining the rights to the name ...
Kalidor does not exist in the novels or comics. This is a fan made comment online that ends up in the top search
I have Deathstalker on DVD, and yes, it was heavily influenced by Conan, which is likely why I love it the way I do. I like BOTH Conan movies, and I'm just glad that I was under 18 at the time, so "having the hots for Olivia D'Abo" wasn't as creepy as it would have been were I over 18. Let's be honest, she was a cutie and a half. But we really didn't know she was only 14 (she sure as Hell didn't look 14 in that movie) at the time. I think most of us assumed she was at least 17 or 18. Remember, we didn't have the internet in 1984.
But "Conan the Destroyer" was indeed a fun movie, and it still is. I enjoy a lot of movies from that genre, and we played Dungeons and Dragons back then, even after it was banned in schools. That genre just sparks the imagination, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Shit your mouth! You're supposed to hate Destroyer! Obey!
hard to top Grace Jones, she knows the film she's in better than everyone else.
"what do you think your doing?" "cleaning your wound"....."my wound is lower" 🤣
I LOVED the first one, really enjoyed the 2nd one and Red Sonja
NoBody Seems to Remember "RedSonja".😒
@@aretnap3653 I wouldn't say that....
Red Sonja was the "unofficial" 3rd act to complete the desired Conan trilogy.
The tone shifting from the first movie was criminal, same happened with T2 except that this last one became a box office hit.
Glad T2 managed to keep the R rating as well. Cameron definitely knew he had the chops for sequels after Aliens so the tone shift paid off. Thank god they ended the series after T2… Such a fitting ending… Hollywood made the right choice to let it end… 😂😂😂
Destroyer deserves a lot more respect than it's given. The cast, cinematography, and comedy made a lot of sense. Brutes have wit too. Plus, the commitment of actors back them to train to fight, horse ride, and do their own stunts for a small fee deserves more respect.
No one goes to watch a fantasy action movie for the acting
Destroyer is camp, violent, and pg enough for all to watch and find something to like
"Destroyer is camp, violent, and pg enough for all to watch and find something to like"
That's kind of the problem with the movie. It couldn't figure out what it actually wanted to be. If it really focused down on being something in particular, it could have done it much better. All the potential is there. Skilled actors, special effects, decent stunt work, etc, etc.
Take the comedy angle for example. Nothing wrong with some comedy in even the most serious movie. That being said compare the lighthearted humor from destroyer to the dark humor in total recall. Total recall's sense of humor didn't clash with the movie. That's how you do it.
It wasn't a bad movie IMHO. Just not a great one either.
@@ColonelSandersLiteTotal Recall was perfect. The funniest scene in a non comedy is Arnold using an innocent man as a human shield. The bad guys really spend a lot of bullets trying to get Arnold who sought refuge behind Somme John do who was probably coming home from a long days work.
Just find the Conan and Red Sonja fanedit. It's a Red Sonja fanedit that serve as the third Conan movie where Kalidor is now Conan. Lots of changes were made to improve the movie too.
Thank you. Have been waiting anxiously for more Fantasizing About Fantasy Films section. I love the fantasy genre.
Thank you!!!!! More coming soon!!!
You can really see the difference in Arnold's physique in the sequel. Much more cut and trim.
Kinda like the difference between Stallone in First Blood, First Blood Part II and Rambo III.
He was asked to tone down so he could preform the complex sword fight scenes ...
Woooow…after all these years. I had no idea that Andre was in Conan the Destroyer
I liked this one a lot more when I was a kid. It felt more like a grand adventure.
a template for a classic DND game hell it can be a first DND movie at lease its better than the other dnd movies that where recent
I liked it a lot as a kid, mostly because it was more of a party of adventurers. Yeah the first one he had some followers, but here I feel like his companions do more things and prove their worth. Plus I think I seen this one first when I was a kid. I didn't have cable, but this was on regular tv a lot, so I ended up seeing this one first. Barbarian is probably a little better, but this one I enjoyed quite a bit at the time.
Barbarian has the greatest soundtrack ever
You can enjoy it for what it is. 1980's action sword and sorcery schlock.
But the 82 film is probably the best fantasy movie every (I think far better than those LOTR films).
The real heart behind the 82 film was John Milius. Red Dawn was the same thing... superficial action schlock, but really deep brilliant story telling underneath. And often misunderstood films. Two of my absolute favorite movies from growing up in the 80s.
I saw this on television in the late 80s before seeing the original. Yes the original is far superior, but this one still has a special place to me. It has some good moments. The very end with the Dagoth creature was what kind of ruined it.
Contender for worst film creature since the 50's B-movies? By contrast, I thought the swordfight with the magician/monster in the room of mirrors was quite inventive. Fun overall, but flawed.
I'd say them making it kid friendlier worked lmao as I was a kid when I saw it and got me into it 🤣👍 though flawed compared to the original, that score for Destroyer was EPICNESS!
I know it's an unpopular opinion, but as a child in the 80's, "Destroyer" was better than the slower paced "Barbarian" original. This one came on more often too on cable at that time.
as a child, yes... then you grow up and know better
Wow I didn't know Grace Jones was a singer. I always thought that she was an actress who maybe was once an athlete or something
It isn't as good as the original, but it is an enjoyable film!
I'm pretty sure I watched The Destroyer before The Barbarian, so I never thought of the tonal shift. I enjoy both movies for what they are, but I can understand why some hated the sequel.
Milius not returning, a script not written by Oliver Stone, and a desire for a lighter tone in order to make an action figure for the toy market are the three things that killed this movie.
EXACTLY
Remember when I was a kid and convinced my mom to rent Conan the Barbarian thinking it was the Destroyer, and that I’d seen it many times. Found out pretty quickly that they were very different movies 😬😅
Destroyer is fun. The tonal change is a little much though, especially if you don't know what you're getting into.
Did NOT know Olivia was 14 at the time, I mean I figured she was young, but not that young. That's pretty yikes, but at least they have Arnie's Conan turn her down.
Grace Jones was so intense, and yes badass. She probably is my favourite character as well, except for maybe Conan himself.
The queen getting _penetrated_ by Dagoth's _horn,_ moaning, and then collapsing on Dagoth seemed like deliberate innuendo to me by the by. Knowing that there was a cut scene involving her getting a bit more excited about the statue makes me extra certain it was deliberate.
I wonder if JoBlo will ever cover Kull the Conqueror, the Kevin Sorbo adventure. I think it's set in the same universe as Conan, though I think a long time before?
As a kid I liked this one better, but as I got older the first one became my favorite. Similar to Alien & Aliens or TMNT & TMNT 2
What's TMNT? Just curious.
Barbarian is a 9, Destroyer is a 2.
Destroyer is someone's poorly written DnD campaign.
Yeah pretty much
Tracy Walter was in a movie in the mid-nineties called Drive with Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison where he plays another henchman but he's totally hilarious.
Conan The Destroyer is a movie you can air in the morning or afternoon on cable. I think they should've kept the tone of the original movie. A rare instance where the studio is wrong about a project.
watched it as a kid and loved it. watched it as an adult and still love it haha
Both movies were better by far than the remake..... since I was a young kid I have been hoping the Arnold would get another Conan movie where he found his own kingdom and wore the jeweled crown of aquilonia upon a troubled brow
my morning dump is far better than the remake, so that's not such a high praise
This movie was so odd. Even as a child i distinctly remember thinking it was random AF.
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Moral of the story is there was plenty of diversity in film, and strong female leads 40+ years ago. Only difference is now the films are patronising about it.
The 80s, we were doing diversity before they were trying to jam it down our throats.
Conan The Barbarian is one of my all time favorite movies ever
Love that thumbnail of Arnold with Isreal Adasanya in the background.
Really an underrated sequel. It was great.
if you are 6...
The horned monster near the end really freaked me out when I first saw the film
I had a huge junior high crush on Olivia... still do 😉
I hope you cover “Kull the Conqueror” from 1997 as it was originally meant to be the third Conan film.
It seems to be the unpopular opinion, but _'Conan the Destroyer'_ is my favourite of the two. Also, I kinda also prefer _'Red Sonja',_ over _'Conan the Barbarian',_ too. 🤷🏻♀️
Also Happy Birthday Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yeah, Barbarian is by far the better movie - hell, maybe the 2nd best fantasy movie(s) made after LOTR - but Destroyer is fun if you come at it as the best of the Conan knockoffs. It's at least got a lot more production value than something like Deathstalker, and aside from the annoying thief, at least the characters are entertaining.
The actress who played the princess, is cousins to lady who played the bond girl in the living daylights
She also had a recurring role as Nicole in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
She was also the voice of Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan animated series
This was my introduction to the character when I discovered it on cable at about 8, and this and beastmaster where my gateway to fantasy films
I loved both conan movies equally........ I love CTB for how dark and just visceral it is... and I love CTD because it feels like a dungeons and dragons game . I'm actually happy that they didnt just retread the first one and had a touch more comedic elements to it.
As a Robert E. Howard Conan film, The Destroyer is....lackluster.
As a comic book version of the character, its fun on a bun. I see The Destroyer as more of a He-Man film. It's pure 80s fantasy goodness imo. Filled with strong production values and beasties - on its own terms it's a great time.
To me it was cornier especially with his comic relief thief friend.
Plus the film seemed too clean and clear compared to how the first one was shot which looked grittier. The music score didn’t help either.
With the resurgence of the ARPG video game genre like Diablo which was heavily inspired by this series, I would love one more Conan film starring Arnold.
1:13 it started a bunch of young dudes training their triceps way harder. 💪
I've seen Destroyer way more times than the Barbarian. Maybe it's because I was a kid but I love this movie 😊
I've always enjoyed this one, and I originally liked this better than the first because it had more magic n' monsters than the original(and Grace Jones!), but upon re-watching I thought some of the dialogue and acting weren't too great. I still really enjoy it though, and I love the Queen Taramis character and Dagoth.
15:30 "I will have my own kingdom, my own Queen...one who is not 15 years old."
I had the double Conan feature DVD. Listening to the commentary with Milius and Arnold Schwarzenegger I caught a unintentionally funny moment when Arnold says I can't wait to make a second one. The Milius was like, you mean a 3rd? Oh, uh yeah. Destroyer meant so little to Arnold he forgot he made it.
I never felt Destroyer as being less violent but actually had more action anyway!
Man, i miss campy sword and sorcery movies ....
This movie is one of many on going examples of what happens when studios begin to meddle with zero business.
Decades later they continue to f-up perfectly good movies.
This one is my favorite... it was always on tv.Same with Hercules ( Lou Ferrigno 💪)
Loved this movie as a kid and i still do. At that time I loved these characters. I wasn't bothered about diversity. Because they simply were great characters. Why even mention it? But thank you for mentioning the comic boom which I bought this week. Didn't know andre the giant played the monster. Super entertaining movie 🎬
There was diversity in the first film. Let's not forget that James Earl Jones played the villain responsible for destroying Conan's Village and killing his family.
@Supremmo yeah so it's nothing new. As a kid and now . I thought they were awesome characters. These days it's just ticking diversity boxes
This movie reminds me of the 80s sooo much!! Seems it always on cable during the day! Great underrated classic! Always💖 when Jessica narrates.
I absolutely love these videos. Fun fact: Tracey Walter also played in
"Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann" not to be confused with the football player Lynn Swann. 😆 He plays a character named "Frog". It's a sidekick-esque character. Maybe one of your guys over there at Joblo can review it!
He actually plays Frog in a fantastic forgotten TV series called Best of the West which I watched religiously when I was 6 and still remember.
Conan The Barbarian is just so good, this sequel (which isn't great) can't help but suffer in comparison.
Well, the original was an epic adventure of heroic qualities and was of course thus truly epic. This one was probably the best and funniest rpg like fantasy movie ever.
Happy Birthday Arnold 🎉🎂
I remember this being pretty decent overall. I understood they were trying to market it wider, and that’s fine.
The 80s Conan influence wasn't just in movies like Death Stalker or Ator (or its sequel, MST classic Cave Dwellers). See also Rastan, Golden Axe and He-Man.
Also, Thomas and Conway had been doing largely all-ages stories for Conan for YEARS at this point (it was a code-approved book in most cases, heck he even teamed up with Spider-Man), the difference was Conan was always a serious character. That's where this one kinda loses me. It's still better than all the various imitators.
While The Barbarian is better, the sequel is still a decent movie. It's shit on way too much. It's still a good 80s sword-and-sorcery flick and people need to see that
As a kid, even still today 30 years later....the second movie always stood out to me the most because of the beautiful princess and the freaky as hell looking mask used in the mirror room scene
Hey its Ursa from Superman 2. So when Lois Lane knocked her out she must have fallen down the hole to another dimension.
Marvel comics brought Robert e Howard's characters to life for many years before the movies came along Conan kull red sonya Kane are all awesome characters but the movies were good Arnold and Kevin did a great job with these characters and Jackman did a good job with Solomon Kane and the red sonya movie was good too
One of this films biggest atrocities is replacing the competent Subotai with the silly Malik ...
I didn't like CtD when I initially saw it but grew to appreciate it enough. I prefer the original but this is still a good movie.
Obviously not as supérior to Barbarian which is a film that stands on its own. Destroyer is more kid friendly, yes, but still more edgier than other Fantasy films with it's tone and story. Although Barbarian kickstarted the genre, Destroyer is the one all these other spin off films comparé itself to
That said, the film has great production design which resembles a lot of comic book pages
The cast is incredible to match Arnold in Grace Jones, Wilt the Stilt, Sarah Douglas and getting Andre the Giant to play Dagoth?
When the Dagoth monster begins to move still creeps me the hell out.
I like this one more than the first one! 😉
Filmed in Mexico, in the surreal decoration of Churubusco Studios !
Omg, i just rewatched the first two 😅 im gonna watched Kalidor now, eventhough its not really a sequel to the two first Conan movies...
She was 14?!?! Damn, I’m going to hell for decades of improper thoughts.
Excellent work Jessica. Very well done.
This is.... a bad movie. But so was Red Sonya and it never stopped me from watching them!
They forgot Flescher's best film, Disney's 20000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA
I think it's telling that every memorable quote in the entire franchise came from the original "Conan the Barbarian." Also, the way the original film combined action sequences with music, narration and minimal dialog makes it stand out from other fantasy and action films. ..... "Conan the Destroyer" isn't a bad movie. It's much better than "Red Sonia" or that horrible remake with Jason Mamoa, but it never came close to the quality of original.
*TheATLANTEAN...*
TheFirst *TRUE* "BastardSword"!
It had more to do with making movies at the time more "Family Friendly". This was supposed to be more acclimatized to the public pressure of making movies less offensive.
This video was done well and I agree with many of it's criticisms. Conan The Barbarian had set a very high bar in my opinion that to even equal it's mood and quality was obviously very difficult. Even the soundtrack is very pale by comparison.
It never occured to that The Destroyer had a different film rating until it was brought to our attention here. I mean it is obvious from the beginning of the film that they were seeking a slightly different audience, which is where the film begins to suffer in my opinion. Much the same as in Thor Ragnarok. Comedy should not have a place in stories of these two characters.
At least in Destroyer, the comedy bits are mostly separate from the dramatic bits.
Nobidy ever talks about the third (and best) film in the franchise - Conan The Librarian.
Our lord and savior Alfred.
@JoBlo Originals Dude, its pronounced 'maako' soft 'a'. Not like the shark. We'd been pronouncing it WRONG for years. Please respect the man and say it correctly.
"Conan and Company seems like an amazing kids show"
Me: (singing) Conan...The Adventurer...
Conan...Warrior without Fear...
He's more powerful than any man,
He's made his way across the land and seas...
😅😅😅😅
She's done a good job at not sounding like Mort from family guy. What was once an ocean of saliva, is now a river, but you still hear it. Just give your scripts to someone else to read, your content is solid.
I slways hoped their’d do the Groo the Wanderer comics in live action. I also believe Steven Seagal would be perfectly cast as Groo. As Seagal seems to be that sort of charactor in real life lol.
Getting a a Conan movie based on The Hour of the Dragon novella from Howard would be perfect.