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Conan the Barbarian

Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King.

1982 · 2h 10m · R Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Directed by John Milius

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Overview

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
66%
Tomatometer
Rotten

There is a real anticipation as Schwarzenegger is unveiled as the barbarian and sets off on the road to independence. But for whatever reasons, the actor has a minimum of dialog and fails to convey much about the character through his actions.

Variety Staff, Variety
Rotten

Match verdict: no goals, slow build-up, but much absorbing action off the ball.

Chris Petit, Time Out
Fresh

Not since Bambi's mother was killed has there been a cannier movie for kids than Conan the Barbarian.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten

Conan the Barbarian is an extremely long, frequently incoherent, ineptly staged adventure-fantasy set in a prehistoric past.

Vincent Canby, New York Times
Fresh

Even 17 years after its release, Conan the Barbarian still weaves a spell capable of ensorcelling fans of fantasy adventure.

James Berardinelli, ReelViews

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