Things have been busy lately, and I haven’t been able to keep the Undead Backbrain properly fed. Lots of good things coming soon, but in the meantime, there’s this newly released trailer for Conan the Barbarian (US-2011; dir. Marcus Nispel).
Despite a certain affection for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s earlier version of Robert E. Howard’s iconic warrior barbarian — a product of the magazine Weird Tales at its height, mingling swordplay, dark magic and monstrosity to create a compelling imaginative world of its own — I’ve always been disappointed by cinematic versions of the Barbarian King’s adventures.
Well, for me this new trailer looks like it’s got all the right moves — and Jason Momoa as Conan has the right sort of muscle and an appropriately rough appearance, indicative of strength gained not through a gym regime but through a brutal life of conflict and near-death experience. Along with giant tentacles, sorcery and other magical adversaries, he gives me hope that this Conan will reflect well on Conan’s literary origins.
Bring it on!
