smokecombs

No it's not a 10 rated movie however I feel it was rated by many without actually being viewed. IMO this is one of the more unique monster movies, or a variation of a type of Bigfoot movie not even remotely close to anything we've ever seen before. It's hard to really name a sasquatch type of movie that has been anything above halfway decent. This movie was not just decent to me, bur borderline, GOOD. The "lead" actor is pretty horrible, the male lead, the female only slightly better. It's the abilities and the uniqueness of the monster antagonist that make this movie. My true rating would be a 6, maybe a 7 out of 10 as far as fun viewing. Acting is maybe a 4. I just don't think the 4 it's rated right now is a fair rating with too many 1 and 2 stars. Of this specific type of movie, this is the best one I have ever seen that has a Bigfoot type of creature. It's by no means a typical Bigfoot story you have heard some hunter relate before.

As one of the biggest Conan fanatics on the planet it's very hard for me to be subjective...so I won't. But I, as a Conan "nerd" can, in my opinion give a fairly accurate opinion on how Conan SHOULD be.

From the very beginning of the movie I already knew this was going to blow that God awful "Pathfinder" movie out of the water. I know the creators of this new Conan were also responsible for that horrendous movie so that already had me worried. Luckily my fears were alleiviated within 2 minutes of the movie. My wife was in tears within the first 3 or 4 minutes which surely means that there was a pretty powerful something to this movie, to start out and without giving away any spoilers, so.

Then, to me, it just got better. Maybe it was a little over the top with the young Conan stuff (obviously), but remember, this IS Conan! As for my hopes of the movie possibly being an actual Robert E. Howard story, I don't think it was that. I don't recall this particular story anyways and I've read at least 4 dozen of them plus all the comics. So, my one criticism for the original with Arnold was also in this movie, but still, I consider both movies great in their genre.

Let me get to why I actually may like the movie more than a lot here. A lot of the reviewers, IMO, have not yet watched this movie and reviewed anyway, and also a lot of reviewers really have that first Conan movie with Arnold ingrained in their mind as the measuring stick. I am going more by the books which were written several decades before the original Conan even came out (which was not written by the original and by far the best Conan writer/creator, Robert E. Howard) and also the comics.

Conan was/is supposed to be a big man, tall and imposing but as agile as a cat and feline fast. Arnold was fairly tall and imposing, but he lacked the most important thing, speed and athleticism. He brought a fairly powerful stage presence and decent acting but Arnold was all power, not a whole lot of speed and agility going on in the fight scenes. So in this way, Momoa was much better for the part, or modern special effects and fighting choreography made a much better representation of how Conan is supposed to look in battle. Momoa even has the right hair color! Lol, although a little curly (Conan is supposed to have straight black hair, but oh well...) I will just break it down like this, sort of a vs. thing of different aspects of the movies, the original vs. this new one. One thing the original had was a GREAT musical score that this new one can't hold a candle to at all. But anyway, here goes.

Acting (lead actor): Arnold (by a slim margin, Momoa acts as well, just not the stage presence of Arnie)

Fighting Scenes: Momoa (A much better representation of Conan's SKILL and speed were on display)

Gore Factor: Conan 2011 (THis movie by far exceeds the blood and dismemberment of the original)

Story: Tie(Neither were original Robert E. HOward stories but I believe there were good elements to both stories)

Character Development: Original (I think we missed out on a good bit of character development for Conan in this new one, especially from teenage years to adult)

Music: Original (Landslide win for the original which just had some music that wanted you to go sword fight your neighbor just for the heck of it)

Setting/Scenery: Conan 2011 (close here, the original has some scenes where I just love the setting but there is a lot of desert in it too. The new one has what I think is a fairly good representation of Cimmeria. I really liked all the Picts represented in this new one as well)

Overall: Conan 2011 (I can't help it, I'm a pretty big fan of this movie after just watching it this weekend. From the over the top total B.A., 12 year old Conan to the rude swaggering adult version, this was what Conan was supposed to be like and a much better movie than I had anticipated.)

Any die-hard beer swigging, UFC watching, "300" special edition owner, that loves swords, blood, action, fighting, boobs, booty, etc.. will eventually come to love this show.

The pilot was just an introductory, and although it may not be worthy of a 10, I think it has only been reviewed by women who I can understand may not love this series, or people who generally don't like this type of movie. Really, I don't know what's the point of watching something if you can't stand that genre, but anyway, that's me.

An honest review I would give the pilot series a 6. It's basically introducing the main characters. The acting is okay, not as good as "Rome" which had really great acting, and 2 of my favorite up and coming actors. But Rome had some very slow moments as well, which some have complained about this first episode of "Spartacus". But from scenes I've saw of future episodes the fighting is going to be much more exciting (theatrical) than the fight scenes in "Rome", which actually were very realistic (no Hollywood fancy 2 people kill 500 enemies), and gritty. That is all well and good, the realistic fights, but really the scenes from "300" of the Spartans destroying piles of enemies all the while pulling off these fancy sword play moves makes for more visually exciting fights, and brings about a lot more drama in the fight. I find that reviewing a film, maybe it doesn't have a great dramatic story as in the plot, but if it's a full out action movie the drama is usually in the actual combat.

So, in conclusion I have high hopes for the future of this series. I may have gave it a much higher score than I felt the opening episode deserved, but I felt the need to counter the low reviews that have thus far been posted. It is well worth watching, as the action intensifies in the following weeks and the sex which is going to be a huge appeal for most men (it is very near softcore porn, but with a realistic feel to it). As a matter of fact the sex scenes that I have saw are much more believable and sexy than most XXX movies, so there ya go, your price of admission right there. I think the actors will improve, and the characters will have some development, more so than you'd get from this type of movie that is compressed into a 90 to 140 minute time frame. It will seem slow at first, and pick up in intensity. Be patient.

Small note and edit of my original review. "moselekm", another reviewer took my opening sentence out of context, then added some drivel about being children who watch WWE, etc.. This series IS NOT for children. No one under 16 really has any business watching this show especially for the sex and violence. Most 16 year olds etc.. can handle this or in this day and time have been subjected to much worse. As to the few jabs that moselekm took about us adults that did enjoy this, children are the ones that rush to insult, but it's definitely not indigenous to kid-world, adults can act like children in many unflattering ways, and can act like children in ways that are actually pretty complimentary. But I think that watching an approved television program and liking it is not a character flaw of it's own, but insulting other's for a different view point, especially on matters that are of no consequence, that is the person that wears the red ringed socks, etc..etc.. This show may be low-brow, senseless violence, sex, etc.., but how many movies programs really have meaning, other than to kill time in between a gap in work and family duty. This is not a show for a family, that's for sure, your children under 16 to 17 shouldn't be allowed to watch it, and your wife probably isn't going to love it. Well, maybe if she enjoys WWE of course. LMAO. Decent show, very overanalyzed thus far. You're gonna like it or loath it, adult or otherwise.

This movie is cheesy, it's very "kiddy-like", but it's also fairly innocent (a lead character who is a true hero, not the current anti-hero) and it also happens to be great. They rarely make movies like this anymore and if they do they don't get rented or watched because there isn't T and A or a bunch of foul language etc..

Bruce Leroy and "ShoNuff" are classic immortal characters. They both went on to do some more acting but it's kind of a pity they didn't get more mainstream lead roles or make a sequel to this movie. The action sequences in this movie were great for there time and for their target audience of probably a slightly younger aged person. The buildup to the final fight is one of the great things about the movie. The training and the fact that the lead character, Bruce Leroy is a huge Bruce Lee fan and trains constantly and watches old Kung Fu to make him better really add to the movie. It isn't the best martial arts action ever but something about it just meshes perfectly with the story and the overall feel of the movie. I would rate the overall action scenes combined with a great final fighting scene as a 8 of 10.

The acting for the movie is pretty decent for all the fairly young kids that are acting. The lead villain, ShoNuff is fantastically over the top in this movie. It hurts my eyes just trying to squint like he did for 30 seconds to give him that look that he did the entire movie. The acting was far better than a lot of younger actors I've seen in movies and TV (such as Power Rangers) in this genre. The lead female in the movie was adequate in her acting, and the hero, Bruce Leroy was just slightly good, but there are lots of supporting actors that add a comic element to this movie, sometimes it's ridiculous but it's still hilarious. Bruce Leroy's little brother cracks me up. As for the lead actress, Vanity (AKA Denise Katrina Matthews) she was adequate in her role as far as acting but she is one of the most gorgeous women I've seen. I mean she has rare classic beauty and it's a shame she didn't get more roles, or at least that I've seen her in.

The story is really good. Maybe not so much the story but just how the overall acting went perfectly with the story and the action and for the audience the movie targeted. I was around 11 or 12 when the movie came out and maybe I'm having a little nostalgia but I can still watch this movie to day and enjoy the heck out of it. Really fun, cute story with a hilarious over the top villain.

Action 8

Acting for its genre 8

Acting for all genres 6

Story 9

Overall I gave this a 10

In closing, I may have an overall ranking that is too high, but I think that right now the 6.2 is too low and want to help bring it up. This movie is an action movie with violence yet it has an innocence about it, yet it's still fun and thrilling. The ending fight scene and the classic lines at the end and just how it all carries out in the movie still almost gives me goose bumps, it's like Superman taking on General Zodd and those guys, just an epic battle. I think it may be sort of a cult classic but I think I could recommend this to anyone and not feel guilty about it. If more movies were made like this today with today's technology then we could maybe let our kids see what good viewing really was. I say just buy this movie if you find it for a good deal anywhere. If you haven't saw it buy it for you and your kids, it's a great family movie to watch with kids who like stuff like power rangers and things, probably from 8 to 12 years old or so, and all adults.

Worth a rental: For dang sure!

Buy it full price: I would

Buy it on DVD for under $10: ShoNUFF!!

I couldn't really believe how terrible this movie was. T and A couldn't even save this (well, maybe if it had been better looking T and A). Basically this is a poor movie in all categories and is basically, as many reviewers have claimed, a softcore porn movie like you see on Cinemax or Showtime late at night.

Don't get me wrong, I love MMA. I have interviewed Quinton Jackson and I love B.J. Penn, G.S.P., Anderson Silva and Heath Herring and I'm loving that they got a chance to make some money without taking the bumps and bruises they normally get in the ring. However the acting was probably the worst of any movie I've ever seen. G.S.P. and all the guys could probably get a little better, and I actually thought that Heath Herring was the freakin star of the entire movie in terms of acting ability. The main character, who I guess is supposed to be the experienced actor is the worst I believe I've ever seen. I literally almost turned the movie off and I'll watch almost any martial arts movie to the end.

As for breaking down the areas of the movie. There was hardly any training sequences, mainly in between fights it was just a bunch of sex scenes (usually sex is historically a big no-no before fights). So I would give this a 0 in terms of training. I like my martial arts movies to show some training techniques and the more of them they are, the more aspects of training they show, and the realism of the training the better he movie. This one had none of that. As for the actual action, it was pretty terrible there as well. I will rate it a 4, simply because of my true life MMA guys. They didn't get to show off enough of their skill, nor where they even given some roles where they could maybe use some Hollywood effects to supe them up a little bit. But just being generous I'm giving it a 4 in terms of overall fight scenes and action, the fighting was fairly realistic.

The acting was truly the low point of a movie that I really can't find many high points. I don't usually, or ever worry about the acting in these type of movies as long as the action is kick a** and the fighting is either very realistic, or a good back and forth between the main hero and villain, or something innovative in terms of the fight choreography. This movie had none of that, as well as even worse acting than even the lowest of this genre. Since martial arts movies aren't known for Robert Deniro type performances and saying that this movie is the worst I've seen thus far that would put my acting rating in the negatives. The lead character is terrible, the lead villain is OK and I'm a fan of his and always have been. He far outshines anyone else in the movie and I was actually hoping he would beat the crap out of the main good guy (I hope he did accidentally belt him in a few of the takes). And the supporting acting of MMA fighter, Heath Herring was pretty decent too, especially considering as many hard tough fights that Heath has had in real life. He seems really sharp still, no signs of any damage from all his fights and he seems to have a natural talent for acting if he wanted to do that. Still, when your lead character is so bad the movie is gonna be bad. For it's genre I would rate the acting of this movie as a 3 (only because of Herring and lead villain Patrick Kilpatrick). I would rate it a 1 or a 0 if not for those 2 guys. In terms of overall genres of movies, this movie gets a 0.

Action 4

Acting in Martial Arts Genre 3

Acting Overall Genres 0

Story Martial Arts Genre 1

Story overall Genres 0 (I should give it negatives)

In closing, if you're a die-hard martial arts/kung fun movie fan, you may still regret watching this. If you are martial arts movie fan, plus huge MMA fan and really like George St Pierre, BJ Penn, Quinton Jackson, Heath Herring, or Anderson Silva then you might want to give this a watch just to see those guys. I would steer clear of this unless there is totally nothing else on. I also wouldn't buy this movie unless it is found at a yard sale or something for under a dollar. I don't really know if it's worth a rental, unless you are really curious and can find it at a Redbox.

This movie is in no way a memorable masterpiece such as Gladiator, or even as good as one of Van Damme's later movies such as "The Quest". However if you are bored and you have Showtime and happen to catch this on the Action channel then it's not that terrible a movie. If you have ever trained in boxing or MMA, or been around it then some of the very few scenes of the training will drive you nuts. The fighting is sort of a blend of realistic MMA, with some unnecessary over the top Hollywood junk. The athleticism of the fights isn't that over the top, sometimes fairly clumsy looking but at least not so stylized to look superhuman like old JCVD spin kicks. As for the action rating I'm gonna rate this as a true MMA fan and martial arts movie fanatic. It gets some credit for it's training scenes. I like a movie that does the classic Van Damme "Kickboxer" type of training, or even "The Karate Kid". I think that "Kickboxer" gets some of the highest marks for the training scenes so I'm gonna rate that movie at a 9. This movie, for the training scenes I'd give it maybe a 6 due to mainly some inconsistencies. Mainly it's the fact that the main hero is supposed to already be this billy bad ass fighter, yet then the guy that talks so highly about him acts like the guy has no clue when he trains him, it didn't make sense. The actual combat is only mediocre. The lighting is terrible in the pit they fight in and the action is usually panned out too far. I'd only give it a 6 of 10 in overall fighting scenes, mainly ranking over a 5 simply because it's fairly realistic combat. There is a few different styles of martial arts represented, although not enough emphasis on that.

The acting isn't nearly the worst I've ever seen as some have said. If you want to see the worst acting ever then watch the MMA movie, "Never Surrender", which features George St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, Anderson Silva, Heath Herring, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. It has maybe 3 of the top 10 pound for pound real life MMA fighters, yet the star is some dude that kicks everyone's butt with ease. I guess he's the star because he's the "actor", and I use quotes because he's the worst actor I've ever seen. So if I were to rate the acting parts of this movie, as compared to it's peers (other martial arts B movies), then I'd rate this one at least a 7 of 10. In terms of just acting overall versus any movie, it'd maybe get a 3.

Overall I'm rating this movie a 6 of 10. My rating is based on the genre of movie it represents. It's not a high budget movie such as "Kickboxer" or "Lionheart" nor is it a low budget gym like "Bloodsport" or "The Last Dragon", however it is entertaining in spots and no worse than most other in this genre. It's not a chick flick, and that's enough for me when I've got a rare moment to sit and watch one of my favorite types of movies. Only watch if you are a die-hard martial arts movie fan and don't expect anything groundbreaking and do expect some cheesiness.