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Conan the Barbarian (2011)

113 min · Action, action film, adventure film, fantasy film, sword and sorcery film, sword-and-sandal film

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A barbarian warrior seeks vengeance against the warlord who slaughtered his village and murdered his father.

The story

Born on a battlefield, Conan is the son of Corin, a barbarian chieftain and blacksmith. As a child, he proves himself a skilled but violent warrior to his father. One day, Conan's village is attacked by Khalar Zym, a warlord who wishes to reunite the Mask of Acheron to revive his dead wife Maliva, an evil sorceress, and conquer Hyboria. After locating Corin's tribe's piece and slaughtering the entire village, Zym leaves Conan the only survivor. Years later, Conan, now an adult, is a pirate and hunts Zym, seeking revenge for his father's death.

Full plot (contains spoilers)

Born on a battlefield, Conan is the son of Corin, a barbarian chieftain and blacksmith. As a child, he proves himself a skilled but violent warrior to his father. One day, Conan's village is attacked by Khalar Zym, a warlord who wishes to reunite the Mask of Acheron to revive his dead wife Maliva, an evil sorceress, and conquer Hyboria. After locating Corin's tribe's piece and slaughtering the entire village, Zym leaves Conan the only survivor. Years later, Conan, now an adult, is a pirate and hunts Zym, seeking revenge for his father's death. In the city of Messantia, he meets Ela-Shan, a thief being pursued by Lucius, one of Zym's soldiers whom Conan recognizes from his village's slaughter. He allows himself to be captured alongside Ela-Shan to confront Lucius. Torturing him, Conan learns that Zym seeks the female pureblood descendant of the sorcerers of Acheron to unleash the mask's power. Conan frees Lucius' prisoners, who kill Lucius. Zym and his daughter, the sorceress Marique, attack a monastery to find the pureblood descendant of the necromancers of Acheron. Fassir, a monk, tells his student, Tamara, to flee, knowing she is whom Zym seeks. Conan rescues Tamara and captures Zym's righthand man, Remo. After learning Tamara's identity, Conan catapults Remo into Zym's camp, killing him and sending Zym a message. Zym and Marique confront Conan and Zym finally recognizes him as the boy he left alive. Amidst their battle, Marique poisons Conan with a boomerang sword and he is rescued by Tamara. They jump into the sea and return to Conan's ship, where he recovers. The boat is attacked by Zym's men but Conan and his gang defeat them. Conan departs for Zym's kingdom. His friend Artus sends Tamara after him, and the two share a night of passion together. The next day, as she is returning to the boat, Tamara is captured by Zym's men. Conan asks Ela-Shan for help breaking into Zym's castle. Zym uses Tamara's blood to mend the mask, planning to use her body as a vessel for his wife's soul. After confronting a tentacled monster that guards Zym's dungeons, Conan frees Tamara and battles Zym, eventually reclaiming the sword Marique had stolen from his father. He also cuts off Marique's hand and she is fatally impaled. Conan and Tamara become trapped on a bridge as Zym uses the mask's power to call forth his wife. Her spirit begins to possess Tamara's body. Conan destroys the bridge, causing Zym to fall into the lava below as he and Tamara escape. Conan returns Tamara to her birthplace, then travels to his old village. He recalls the memory of his father, content that he has avenged his death and recovered his father's sword, thereby restoring his honor.

First release year
2011
Runtime (minutes)
112
Production countries
United States
Original languages
English
Directors
Marcus Nispel
Writers
Thomas Dean Donnelly · writer; Joshua Oppenheimer · writer; Sean Hood · writer
Cast and characters
Jason Momoa · Conan; Rachel Nichols · Tamara; Stephen Lang · Khalar Zym; Rose McGowan · Marique; Saïd Taghmaoui · Ela-Shan; Bob Sapp · Ukafa; Ron Perlman · Corin; Leo Howard · young Conan
Genres
sword and sorcery; fantasy adventure
Themes
vengeance; honor; sorcery
Tone and mood
violent; dark
Setting
Hyboria, a fantasy world featuring barbarian tribes, kingdoms, and monasteries.
Premise and plot tags
revenge; fantasy; sword and sorcery; monster
Source material / true-story basis
character created by Robert E. Howard
Franchise connections
Conan the Barbarian
Content notes
violence
Reception
The film was deemed both a critical and financial failure, receiving generally negative reviews for its lack of character depth and excessive 3D effects.
Production trivia
The film was originally titled Conan 3D before being changed to Conan the Barbarian.; The character Marique was originally written as a male character called Fariq.; Jason Momoa beat Kellan Lutz and Jared Padalecki for the role of Conan.
Catalogue themes and tags

Adventurer, Avenger, Barbarians, Blood thirst, Children, Enemy, Familienfehde, Growing Up, Half Orphan, Hostility, Ladykiller, Loss of Mother, Martial Arts, Massaker, Quest for Revenge, Rach, Schwert, Swordplay, Swordsman, Tribe, Vendetta, Wüste, antike, Thriller, Fantasy Adventure, Adventure, Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Sword and sorcery, Action, Sword and sorcery films

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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