Conan the Destroyer
Directed by Richard Fleischer
- adventure
- fantasy
- action
The story
Conan is commissioned by the evil queen Taramis to safely escort a teen princess and her powerful bodyguard to a far away castle to retrieve the magic Horn of Dagoth. Unknown to Conan, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess when she returns and inherit her kingdom after the bodyguard kills Conan. The queen's plans fail to take into consideration Conan's strength and cunning and the abilities of his sidekicks: the eccentric wizard Akiro, the warrior woman Zula, and the inept Malak. Together the hero and his allies must defeat both mortal and supernatural foes in this voyage to sword-and-sorcery land.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated 1980s fantasy with a sun-baked, painterly sheen: wide desert vistas, lurid jungle greens, torchlit stone interiors and sorcerous glows that tint everything violet or amber. The camera is mostly steady and wide, letting sword-and-sorcery landscapes and costumed set pieces breathe, with a synth-and-orchestra score that swells on every quest beat. Its vibe is brawny, tongue-in-cheek escapism, the kind of cheerful pulp adventure you put on for a loose Saturday afternoon or a comfort rewatch with friends. Pacing is brisk and episodic, moving from one caravan-road encounter to the next, with a light, teasing humour running under the action. The emotional register stays easy and good-natured: a lone wolf who grudgingly becomes a protector, and a ragtag band who find loyalty through mutual misadventure. Violence is frequent and cartoonishly staged, with sword fights, brawls, and monster combat, plus some sorcery and peril, but little real gore and no sustained cruelty. Good for viewers who want big, goofy fantasy spectacle with a wink, rather than grim or intimate drama.
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