I plucked the new Conan the Barbarian DVD from the racks a few days ago. I've given the movie a few watches now, once with the director's commentary, and I must say I'm liking it better and better.
You can read my original review of the theater experience here. I still love Jason Momoa's rendition of the Cimmerian, he's better than Arnold. If ever an actor was sullen-eyed it's Momoa. He is physically impressive, and his physical skills are much more given to lithe warrior than Arnold's brawnier version.
The world of Hyboria as imagined here works a tad bit better as repeated watching clarify some of the confusion about geography, or render it moot. Some of the action sequences which distracted me in the theater seem to gel better on a smaller screen.
The DVD offers up some decent documentaries (brief though they are) on Conan and Robert E. Howard. I'm sure purists might find something to object to, but both seemed fair minded. Roy Thomas is interviewed and appears in both.
Overall, I still like this movie, and after seeing it at home, I'm disappointed we won't likely be seeing more after the dismal box office it delivered. Maybe things will pick up in the after markets.
Seeing the DVD did spur me to pick up the latest Del Rey offering, a mass market collection of some of the more famous Conan stories. I liked the way it fit handily in my coat pocket, so I picked up one (paid for it of course) and I'm right now reading "Phoenix on the Sword" again.
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