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Conan the Barbarian | 2011 | R | - 8.9.2
Inspired by the eponymous comic book, the story follows a barbarian (Jason Momoa), who was born on a battlefield as his mother died and watched his father's (Ron Perlman) torture and murder. After years of searching, he finally has the opportunity to avenge himself against those who had murdered his family and destroyed his village, especially one man (Stephen Lang) and his daughter (Rose McGowan). Also with Rachel Nichols and Bob Sapp. Directed by Marcus Nispel. [1:52]
SEX/NUDITY 8 - A man and a woman kiss passionately and moments later we see them having active, thrusting sex; they change positions multiple times (the woman's bare breasts and back and the man's bare chest and back are visible), they kiss passionately as we see the man continuing to thrust and we later see the two lying side by side, presumably fully nude (the man's bare back and buttocks are visible).
► A woman kneels seductively in front of her father, she makes a sexually suggestive comment, and sucks on his finger until he shoves her away.
► Throughout the movie we see topless women, with bare breasts clearly visible: A topless woman dances suggestively on a table as men watch; a man wraps his arms around the waist of a topless woman; we see two topless women wrap their arms around a man and he lifts them up; a man kisses a topless woman on the cheek and we see her put her arms around his shoulders; and a topless woman is seen strapped to a large circle with her hands above her head. Many men's bare chests and backs are seen throughout the movie, including those of the lead character, who is shirtless for the entire film. In the background we see a man taking a bath in a tub and his bare chest is visible. A woman wraps her arms around the waist of a bare-chested man as they ride horseback. Throughout the movie a woman wears suggestive clothing, including a cleavage exposing corset, a cleavage exposing bikini top and short skirt, a mesh-dress, which is partially see-through, and a barely closed animal skin that reveals cleavage. A woman wears a cleavage exposing dress and on one occasion the woman is turned upside down and her cleavage is very obvious. We briefly see the genitals of a newborn male baby.
► A man jokes with a woman, saying she looks like a prostitute, and the woman responds that the man is only used to seeing prostitutes.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 9 - We see a massive battle between two groups of men on horseback: Men knock other men off their horses and we see blood covering a man's head; a man stabs another man in the head and we see blood spurt from the wound; a man cuts another man's chest with a sword and blood pours from the man's chest and he collapses to the ground; a man throws a spike through another man's chest and blood sprays; a man chops off another man's arm and blood sprays from the stump; a woman fires an arrow at a man, it hits him in the chest as another man uses a knife to cut open the man's chest and blood spatters from wound; a man stabs another man through the chest with a pole, and we see the bloody pole come from the other side of the man's chest; countless arrows are fired at men, the arrows strike their targets and we hear the sound of flesh being pierced; a boy uses a man as a shield as arrows fly through the air and we see blood coming from three arrows sticking out of the man's chest; a man stabs a horse; men pull one another off horseback; and a man grabs a woman by the hair and drags her to the ground. During a short battle scene we see the following: a man stabs another man and blood sprays from his chest; archers shoot arrows into other men and one man is shot in the chest (we see blood appear under the arrow immediately); and a man slices through another man's chest armor and chest and blood spurts from the wound.
► A man throws a rock sling at a boy and it knocks him to the ground, five men surround the boy and he attacks them one by one, stabbing one in the foot and then shoulder (blood is seen spurting from both wounds); he then kicks one man in the face, knocking him to the ground and slamming his head into a rock (blood pours from the man's head), smashes a man's head into a tree stump, stabs a man crawling on the ground with an axe (blood sprays from the man's wounds) and we later see the blood-covered boy carrying three decapitated, bloody heads.
► During a battle scene on a ship, we see the following: a man uses a sword to cut off another man's arm and blood spurts from the man's stump; a man and a woman throw a spear through another woman's stomach and the woman shoves a man's head through the steering wheel of the boat (we see blood pour from where the wood enters his chin and exits his forehead); a man stabs another man in the chest and we see the sword go through his chest; a man is struck by an arrow and falls off the ship; men climb onto a ship, wrestle other men and two men are thrown overboard; we see a man stab another man in the chest; and a woman breaks a chicken cage over a man's head and he stumbles to the ground.
► During a small fight in a room with a large grate covering water, we see a man release a woman from a cage hovering above the grate, and she falls into the water, where large tentacles appear and grab her; many tentacles attempt to grab two men, one man locks himself in a cage, the cage is knocked into the water and he narrowly avoids being caught by the monster, a man punches another man and we see blood come from his nose, a man wraps a chain around another man's neck and shoves him into the water, and we see half of the man's body shoot through the air with blood and gore hanging from the severed trunk.
► A man on horseback rides alongside a wagon drawn by three men on horseback and being chased by four other men on horseback: during a struggle between the men steering the wagon and the horsemen, we see a man punch through the wagon and he is almost stabbed by a woman inside the wagon, the woman kicks a man off a horse, a man uses a sword to stab another man and knock him off his horse, and a man on horseback throws himself onto another man on horseback, knocking him to the ground; a woman climbs out of the wagon and detaches it from its horses, it falls behind her, narrowly missing three men as it falls to pieces, and a woman uses a whip to grab a man off a horse and drag him and slam him against a rock (the bloody outline of his body is seen).
► Two women fight: one woman has talons on her hands and the other is holding a knife, they punch and kick one another, one throws the other to the ground, and she gets up and tackles the other woman, one woman wraps a chain around the other woman's neck, slams a rock down on the ground and narrowly misses crushing her head, and a man cuts off one woman's taloned-hand and we see blood pour from the stump; the other woman punches the injured woman, shoving her off a cliff and onto a large spike (blood pours from the wound in the woman's stomach and she appears dead).
► A woman with talons on her hand nicks another woman's neck and licks the blood from the talon, she then stabs the woman in the stomach (we see blood cover the woman's stomach) and she falls to the ground; the talon-wearing woman drags her talons across another woman's neck, licks the small amount of blood, then racks the talons across the woman's face, the woman screams in pain and we see the deep bloody cuts and blood covering the woman's talons.
► After being stabbed in the back, a woman tells a man that she is dying and would like to see her unborn son; it is implied that the man cuts the woman's stomach with a dagger, he shoves his bloody hand in her mouth to keep her from screaming, we see the man lift up the blood and gore covered newborn, and the woman holds the baby and dies (the man's hands are covered in blood and gore and he lifts the baby, also covered in blood and gore, above his head).
► A man on horseback lifts a large chain up, two men on horseback run directly into the chain, and they are knocked to the ground where the man stabs them each to death (we see blood spray from their wounds). A man kicks another man, and then stabs him in the chest as he lies on the ground, twisting the sword as a woman watches (the attacking man is covered in bloody spray).
► A man is seen with his hands tied above his head (small bloody cuts are seen on his face and a large bloody cut on his leg), his hands are attached to a bucket of molten steel that drips on his face (we hear the sizzle of his skin burning and the man shouts in pain) and another man chains the man's young son to the bucket; the boy struggles, a small drop hits the boy's skin and he yelps in pain, the father yanks the bucket on top of himself, we see his body covered in molten steel and it turns into a black ember as the boy watches.
► A boy leaps into the air and uses a small knife to cut off a man's nose (we see the piece of nose fly through the air and land in a puddle of blood), the man holds a blood-soaked cloth to his face and we see a gaping hole in his face as he tells another man that a boy had chopped off his nose.
► A man shoves another man's arms into a vice, twists the vice around the man's wrists (we see blood pour from his wrists), and removes the man's mask to reveal the man's exposed nostrils (his nose is missing); the attacker shoves his finger into the man's nostrils, roots around in the cavity for a prolonged time as the man screams in pain and the attacker then forces the man to swallow a piece of metal.
► As a man tells another man that his wife had been strapped to a grate and burned alive as he and his daughter were forced to watch, we see a woman screaming, and her arms are bound to a stake as she is set into a fire.
► An older man tells a man that the man's wife had "deserved to die"; the man grabs the older man's head and slams it against the ground repeatedly, we see a large pool of blood form under the older man's head and he is presumably dead.
► On a battlefield, we see many men and women engaged in combat, swinging swords and hammers at one another; a woman stabs a man in the stomach, the man swings his sword and slices the woman's back, another man comes to the woman's aid and we see that she has blood coming from her mouth.
► A man uses a man's severed head, with blood and gore hanging from the neck wound, to knock another man out, smashing the head against the man's face; three other men approach the attacker, he stabs one man in the stomach, shoves another man to the ground and cuts off his head, and stabs the third man in the shoulder and then head (blood splatter covers the attacking man's chest, hands and face).
► A man and his adult daughter strap a woman to a large circle, with her wrists and feet are tied to the circle; the man uses a knife and makes a cut on the woman's chest, we see blood drip from the cut and into a bowl and we later see the woman's chest bleeding. We see a man twisting a clamp around a man's wrists, the man screams in pain and the man torturing him laughs as blood pours from his wrists.
► A woman dips a knife blade into poison and throws it at a man engaged in sword combat with her father; the knife glances the man's back, his reaction time is slowed and we see the other man punch, kick and shove him multiple times as he struggles to fight back (we see blood coming from the small wound on the man's back).
► A woman is strapped to a large circle hanging high above a running stream of lava; the circle comes loose, begins to fall into a pit, it gets caught on a rock, and two men leap onto the circle and fight with swords above the woman; the two men swing the circle around multiple times, hanging on with chains as the circle flips, the woman screams, the chain holding her to the circle comes loose, and the woman falls off and hits a small rock ridge.
► On two occasions we see the same two men sword fight: they swing, shove and punch one another, and one man stabs the other man but he is later seen fully recovered; they are both covered in small cuts and blood but neither is seriously injured.
► A man tells several men chained at the wrists that the key to their chains is inside another man's body; the man throws the chained man on the ground, stabs him in the side and allows the pack of men to surround him (we see one man repeatedly stabbing the man in the stomach and hear him scream in pain).
► A woman falls through a bridge, a man grabs a chain attached to the woman, and she dangles over a stream of flowing lava and begs the man to allow her to drop and die; the man cuts out a portion of the bridge under another man's feet, causing him to fall through the bridge as he hoists the woman up to safety.
► Using a catapult, a man throws another man through the air, the man hits a ship being carried by elephants and chained up men, and the man's dead body crashes through a ceiling, narrowly avoiding a man and his adult daughter.
► As a narrator declares that various groups of people had been killed, we see people fighting, men swinging swords at one another, a castle exploding in flames as the sound of a man screaming is heard and we see a man stabbing a sword through the chest of another man.
► A woman casts a spell that causes men to appear from sand and a man and woman fight these sandmen: the sandmen throw knives at the man, he climbs a scaffolding and narrowly misses being struck by knives, he throws two sandmen off the scaffolding (their bodies dissolve into sand), a woman stabs a sandman (his body dissolves into sand), a sandman glances a woman's cheek (we later see a small amount of blood on the abrasion), a man swings his sword at a sandman, and the sandman disappears and reappears in the sand; a woman falls through a scaffolding, and a sandman follows her, falling through multiple stories of scaffolding and then dissolving into sand.
► A woman is surrounded by men on horseback, she stabs one of the men, he falls to the ground, and the woman is then attacked and we hear her scream; she is later seen being led by an armed man with her wrists tied together.
► A man head-butts another man and we see the man knocked backwards and blood pours from his mouth and nose. A man and a woman are seen on horseback, chasing another man on horseback, and the man grabs the other man's glove and throws it at the man's face; he is knocked off his horse and appears to be temporarily unconscious, and we later see him tied up with a small amount of blood coming from a cut on his face and mouth.
► A man with his hands chained attacks two other men, head-butting one and punching and shoving the other to the ground; he uses the chains around his wrists to choke another man, dropping his dead body to the ground. A man held captive, his arms tied together and two bloody cuts on his face, tells another man, "I prefer death"; we see the man stab the captive man in the side and he falls to the ground.
► A boy explores a burned out village, stepping around the dead bodies of men lying on the ground and we see crows standing on the decaying, gore-covered bodies of men lying on the ground. A man instructs several men to roll large rocks off a cliff and we see the rocks smashing into a village below, shattering carts and buildings and crushing one man.
► A man punches another man in the stomach and the man drops to the ground. A man stabs another man in the chest and we see the sword go through his chest (no blood is visible). A man punches another man and drags him off his horse.
► Men on horseback corral several men with their hands tied together and a man swings a whip through the air, narrowly missing them. A man stands on top of a ship being carried by chained up elephants and we see the man snapping a whip at several chained men that are dragging the elephants and ship.
► Two men attack a boy, one slams him to the ground and the other punches him; the boy cries out as one of the attackers then stabs the boy's father in the leg. A man is about to stab another man with a sword, a woman shouts at the man to stop and we see him put a knife to the man's neck and then drop it.
► A father practices sword fighting with his son on top of a frozen lake; the man breaks the ice under the boy's feet, the boy falls into the freezing water and the man pulls him out, unharmed. Several teen boys shove one another and race through a forest; we see a boy leaping over a rock, shoving two other boys to the ground, tackling another boy to the ground and kicking a boy in the chest.
► Two men walk through a sewer and we see skeletons hanging from the ceiling. We see skulls, skeletons and various human bones in several scenes throughout the movie, including a woman falling onto a pile of skulls and a man digging through a pile of skeleton bones. As we see a mask that appears to be made of human bones, including a discernible jawbone; a narrator states that a mask had been made from bones. A man discovers his daughter's dead body and weeps.
► A man tells four men to destroy a village, kill everything and burn the buildings; we see a man setting a building on fire. A woman sets a stack of oil barrels on fire and they explode.
► A man shouts at a woman, tells her to be quiet and shoves a piece of cloth in her mouth; she is unharmed. A man shouts at his young son. A man shouts at another man. A man angrily shouts at a woman, she sasses the man.
► A man tells a woman that another man had been born on a battlefield and had "tasted" his mother's blood as she died. A man tells another man that a woman had saved his life. A man tells a crowd of people that a man had saved his life, but would "gut you like a fish" if you try to fight him. A man tells a woman that he will "cast all rivals into oceans of blood." A man tells several teen boys that if they complete a task they will be allowed to fight with a group of warriors. A man tells another man that a forest is filled with dead bodies and animals that feast on dead bodies. A man tells another man that he "screams like a woman." A narrator explains that a man had been robbing, murdering and plundering cities and people since his father had been murdered and his village destroyed.
► Due to a magic spell cast by a man and his adult daughter, we see a woman's face mutate and watch her eyes roll back into her head and the veins on her cheeks and forehead pop (she is later seen unharmed).
► A woman screams as she and a man leap off a cliff and into water; they surface unharmed and swim to safety. A boy runs through a crowded village and we hear a goat bleat as he shoves it out of the way. A man grabs his young son's sword as they practice sword fighting.
► Two men arm wrestle: one of the men takes a drink and sprays spittle and liquid onto the other man's face, one man punches the other and they both laugh and appear unharmed.
► A man urinates out of pain and fear; we see the stream of urine hitting the ground. Two teen boys are seen spitting raw egg from their mouths. A man spits on the ground; we see the spittle leave his mouth.
LANGUAGE 2 - 1 sexual reference, 1 scatological term, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (pink bellied motherless scrubs, old man, foolish, harlot, scrawny little rat, fool, liar, vermin).
SUBSTANCE USE - We see men drinking from casks and cups, presumably wine. A man smokes a water pipe and exhales the smoke slowly.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Death of a parent, revenge, obsession, regret, admiration, disappointment, purity, witchcraft, genocide.
MESSAGE - For some people, revenge is something they will always seek after being harmed.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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support us
PLEASE DONATE
We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
NO MORE ADS!
Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.