Momoa is well coordinated, fast and he looks convincing for someone who had to fight for his surviving most of his life. He moves quickly and have that aspect that Arnold never had which is not the solely fault of Arnie's mass but rather the fact that he is a bodybuilder who only trains for aesthetics and partially for static strength which is more the mass building tool than work on the functionality and while he surely can bench, squat and deadlift some impressive poundages, it isn't his primary goal to be fast, explosive, powerfull, agile.
The things that differs him and Momoa is that Arnold have a presence which oozes power while Momoa doesn't. I mean movie is a visual medium and to some extent, if you don't stand out as an imposing physical stature, you won't convince the wiever that you're an intimidating powerhouse. Some of the best olympic weightlifters which are the epitome of explosive power looks either like the blobs if they are superheavyweights either like pretty much average, or a little above average built, which is decieving regardles of what they can do. Many of them have that muscleless look, but displays some incredibly beastly performances on stage. However, the movies, being the visual medium doesn't care if someone can clean and jerk an elephant through the roof if there's no the powerful presence of him on screen.
In my opinion, Momoa would need more mass to stand out and have this mighty savage appearance even when he don't do anything spectacular. The big thing about Conan always was his presence which gives you the feeling that he is indeed a misfit in the civilised world. A being to remember, someone who not just stand out in physical aspect, but also in something wild and untamed, primal which he carries inside. I'm thinking about his entering in the maul in the tower of the elephant and it brings the recension of an certain metal band I've read to mind:
"This demo tape seems to be a sacrifice to dark, forgotten and long dead gods, a slow stripping of flesh, a white hot needle right into your eyeball – true Torture Doom which flays the spirit and, strangely, leaves you craving for more…"
The character of Conan as Momoa played it seems to be too one dimensional. His everpresent growling start to get to all the nerves you can possibly have. For the flying spaghetti monster's sake, say just one line in normal voice. I somewhat hoped he'll show some of that myrth conan is also famous for as much as his other charactheristics in that scene by the fire with the girl but he just gags her. Ok, you're a badass mother****er who take it from no one, we've got that, but some other emotions wouldn't cut off your manhood for Crom's sake. He is just another one of many busters around only a bit more brutal in some cases.
Another thing that made this movie dead and quickly forgettable is something, ... it probably gets to the light engineer's soul. After watching Nispel's Conan and Miliuses, it's an incredible difference in light engneering. I believe this new movie seriously overblows either darkness either lightness. I don't know exactly what's the issue, so I won't blab about it without backing it up but something is strange in that aspect.
Nothing stands out and leaves the certain feeling. Ok, Momoa looks ok, Ron Pearlman is great, the dark, grim, busted and dirty look is well done, but there's no spice in it. There's no something that will leave you in awe after the movie ends. Maybe it is the director's fault because as I've already said, I'd rather see a totally new Conan story but masterfully done, than poorly done word by word Howard's one. That way, I'll be able to say to myself, oh look, Conan just got into some other adventure in a row, maybe some tale Howard never managed to write or he wrote it but it was lost and now found again.
However, the best thing would be to follow the story and the characther as Howard wrote it but to do it in the best possible way.
Edited by Munthasem, 27 December 2011 - 07:17 PM.
?Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in an attractive and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand,
strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and
screaming?.. WOO HOO?. What a RIDE!?
- Indian Larry Desmedt -
R.I.P. 1949. - 2004.
