Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
CONAN THE BARBARIAN (2011)Movie Reviews
Action adventure fantasy about the hero's adventures in the Hyborian Age. Cast:Jason Momoa, Mickey Rourke, Rachel Nichols, Stephen LangDirector:Marcus NispelRelease Date:August 19, 2011DVD Release:November 22, 2011From:LionsgateRating:RLength:1 hr 52 minIn 3D
Conan the Barbarian (2011) played to weak reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Christy Lemire wrote for the Associated Press, "Fight, talk, fight, talk, fight, talk, then an enormous throwdown followed by a denouement that dangles the possibility of a sequel... mind-numbingly convoluted." • And Glenn Sumi wrote in Toronto Now, "...almost everything you could want in a pure trash sword-and-sorcery flick..." More Reviews Below...
Conan the Barbarian (2011) Positive Reviews (40 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: WEAK "Tracking Conan's journey from foetus (no kidding) to gruff manhood, the new version finds its meager inspiration in the standard kill-dream of an orphan's revenge."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 931 words, 08/19/11
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: POOR(cg) "Fight, talk, fight, talk, fight, talk, then an enormous throwdown followed by a denouement that dangles the possibility of a sequel... mind-numbingly convoluted."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 08/18/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "...simultaneously lavishly violent and numbing, visually ornate and undistinguished, epic and shallow, relentlessly noisy and tone-deaf, workmanlike and unfilling..."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 449 words, 08/19/11
Scott Bowles, USA Today: WEAK(cg) "Sneer, slice, repeat. Conan the Barbarian lives by a pretty simple ethos: He lives, he loves, he slays. What he doesn't do, alas, is act."(See all of Scott Bowles's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 337 words, 08/19/11
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: WEAK(cg) "...about what one might expect from a B-grade production team.... The few good elements are dwarfed by a generic, nonsensical plot and shoddy storytelling."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 932 words, 08/19/11
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Momoa has some awfully big biceps to fill.... offers gore and plenty of it, as well as some wit and surprisingly O.K. performances..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 625 words, 08/19/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...brutal, bloody beyond belief, and has no socially redeeming value.... it's kind of a wicked blast to watch, especially if you're in the mood for some righteous revenge."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 854 words, 08/19/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...supplies the necessary flayings, slayings, beheadings and, um, a be-nose-ing.... It knows it's a B movie, and gets on with it."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 735 words, 08/19/11
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "...feels a little light in the sandals. Jason Momoa plays Conan not as a man-beast but as a charming rascal, all green eyes and lush brows, a veritable metrosexual..."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 352 words, 08/19/11
Logan Hill, New York Magazine: FAIR "...hovers in that uncanny valley between camp and horror: wild enough to titillate for a few fun fight sequences, too safe to leave much of an impression."(See all of Logan Hill's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 553 words, 08/19/11
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Squeamish types may balk, but the gory cruelty on display here is faithful to the source material and deeply thrilling."(See all of Mark Holcomb's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 08/24/11
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: WEAK(cg) " 'I live. I love. I slay. I am content.' Well, that looks after you, Conan, but what about the rest of us who would like a little plot with our mindlessly splattering gore?"(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 696 words, 08/19/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...almost everything you could want in a pure trash sword-and-sorcery flick... hardcore violence, epic sweep, gaudy villains, a grim sense of humour, some nudity and sex."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 08/18/11
KEY CITIES (9 Reviews)
John DeFore, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "Nispel falls into familiar traps throughout the film: framing battles too tightly to follow them, incorrectly assuming we want an 'epic' that runs nearly two hours..."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 08/19/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE(cg) "It has a better actor as star -- Jason Momoa... It has better sword play. It even has 3D. But you lose the legend of Conan, you've lost the plot."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 646 words, 08/19/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: POOR(cg) "...one of the all-time best bad movie lines, one Conan utters as a kind of personal credo: 'I live. I love. I slay. I am content.' That makes one of us."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 08/18/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "...plods along, regularly erupting in action scenes that make scant visual sense in two dimensions and none at all in 3-D.... it's tame stuff..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 600 words, 08/19/11
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: POOR(cg) "This Conan barely qualifies as a character, smirking and hacking his way through life, never evolving into someone who can change or whom you want to follow."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 347 words, 08/19/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: MODERATE(cg) "...lives down to its predecessor, adding state-of-the-art carnage to a plot that any sword-and-sorcery flick might crib. People die messy and often..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 08/20/11
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Squeamish types may balk, but the gory cruelty on display here is faithful to the source material and deeply thrilling."(See all of Mark Holcomb's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 08/24/11
Josh Tyler, Cinema Blend: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This isn't just a total rehash of the movie you saw in the 80s... gritty enough and brutal enough that it's absolutely worth a look."(See all of Josh Tyler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 08/19/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...the blurry action scenes grow repetitious, and though the sets capture the famous look of the Frank Frazetta book covers, the film lacks the warrior's heart."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 156 words, 08/25/11
Jaime N. Christley, Slant: POOR(cg) "...a crap movie that seems to have come by its crappiness honestly -- the downtown version of 'Clash of the Titans,' with no evidence of improvement..."(See all of Jaime N. Christley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 661 words, 08/17/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...almost everything you could want in a pure trash sword-and-sorcery flick... hardcore violence, epic sweep, gaudy villains, a grim sense of humour, some nudity and sex."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 08/18/11
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...the lousy writing, incoherent action scenes and fantasy epic clichés will crush your spirits. Hear the lamentations of the Robert E. Howard fans."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 08/18/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Momoa has some awfully big biceps to fill.... offers gore and plenty of it, as well as some wit and surprisingly O.K. performances..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 625 words, 08/19/11
Scott Tobias, NPR: POOR "...the worst kind of failure, the one where nobody shows up to play.... director Marcus Nispel simply goes through the expected paces for sword-and-sorcery adventures..."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 08/18/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...brutal, bloody beyond belief, and has no socially redeeming value.... it's kind of a wicked blast to watch, especially if you're in the mood for some righteous revenge."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 854 words, 08/19/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...well-executed... delivers hard-R escapism for 13-year-old intellects, aimed to satisfy those looking to rest their brains but not their ears."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 788 words, 08/16/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...brutal, bloody beyond belief, and has no socially redeeming value.... it's kind of a wicked blast to watch, especially if you're in the mood for some righteous revenge."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 854 words, 08/19/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD(cg) "Neither really good, nor really bad... a passable, bloody action-adventure that delivers the goods expected of such a mythic epos, driven by primal (and primitive) vengeance."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 757 words, 08/16/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Momoa has some awfully big biceps to fill.... offers gore and plenty of it, as well as some wit and surprisingly O.K. performances..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 625 words, 08/19/11
20.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Conan the Barbarian (2011)'s reviews are separated by an average 20.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Conan the Barbarian (2011) (40 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Conan the Barbarian (2011)'s reviews cover 66.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 22,626 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 566 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5.4 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Conan the Barbarian (2011)'s reviews on average broke 5.4 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Conan the Barbarian (2011)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Conan the Barbarian (2011) (40 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
