Conan the Destroyer

Conan the Destroyer is not an awful follow-up, just a mostly unnecessary one. Read full review

Under the direction of veteran Fleischer, this superior sequel to the plodding Conan The Barbarian boasts much more speed, skill, and ingenuity than its predecessor. Read full review

Destroyer makes all the mistakes Barbarian avoided. Dropping the first movie’s grim approach to achieve an audience-friendly rating, the sequel goes for a lighter, more overtly humorous tone, with multiple characters serving as increasingly unnecessary comic relief. Read full review

The special effects aren't bad, and there are fewer decapitations than in Conan the Barbarian. Mr. Fleischer seems to want this film to be funnier than was the first one, directed by John Milius, but Mr. Schwarzenegger, a body builder who can lift freight trains, can't easily get his tongue into his cheek. Read full review

Veteran director Richard Fleischer brings to the Conan sequel some of the endearingly stolid craftsmanship of his old movies, while avoiding the lip-smacking sadism of the original. The movie is consistently dumb, though not hard to watch, but it would be a lot more fun if someone had bothered to give Conan a personality. [02 July 1984, p.45]

Arnie still swings that sword with aplomb, but with a story this ludicrous, he's on slippery ground. Read full review