Conan The... Abercrombie & Fitch Model

It's 2011, what's one more remake.  At this point, movie fans should surrender to the fact that there are very few original ideas in Hollywood anymore, save Christopher Nolan.  This brings us to the new remake, Conan The Barbarian.  Jason Momoa (of Stargate Atlantis and most recently of Game of Thrones) is the new Conan.  Needless to say, there is a lot of physicality required for the role and Arnold Schwarzenegger left big shoes to fill.  Thankfully, Jason appears to be up to the challenge.  However, whether or not he can deliver on the acting remains to be seen.  That said, Schwarzenegger wasn't exactly known for his acting ability in the first Conan films.

Certainly Jason's most recent role as a barbarian in Game of Thrones has been good practice, not only for him, but for the audience.  Some may doubt the casting of Jason, but the rest of the cast is first-rate.  Rose McGowan and Stephen Lang star as the film's villains and Rachel Nichols stars as Conan's love interest.  Rose McGowan has also been cast as the lead in Red Sonja.  Currently, Red Sonja is in development limbo, however, depending on how Conan does, we may see a Red Sonja remake.  Stephen Lang is simply amazing...period.  A true character actor if ever there was one.  He's such a fine actor you scarcely know he's acting.

The cast aside, the true strength of the original Conan films were the storylines.  If the new Conan is not well-written, all is for naught.  The trailer gives the impression of a popcorn flick at best.  The new film comes across as an unhealthy hybrid of Clash of the Titans (the bad one), The Scorpion King, Prince of Persia, with a little bit of The Mummy thrown in for good measure.  Some of the above were half-way decent, some were not.  This film, like the remake of Clash of the Titans before it, appears to be CGI and beefcake gone wild.  To compensate the film has gone heavy on the blood and guts, which may or may not be a good sign.

The film will be offered in 3D and releases August 19, 2011.