Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Conan is commissioned by the evil queen Taramis to safely escort a teen princess and her powerful bodyguard to a far away castle to retrieve the magic Horn of Dagoth. Unknown to Conan, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess when she returns and inherit her kingdom after the bodyguard kills Conan. The queen's plans fail to take into consideration Conan's strength and cunning and the abilities of his sidekicks: the eccentric wizard Akiro, the warrior woman Zula, and the inept Malak. Together the hero and his allies must defeat both mortal and supernatural foes in this voyage to sword-and-sorcery land.
Conan the Destroyer is a noticeably toned-down, PG-rated sequel that trades the grim mythic weight of the original for a lighter, more episodic adventure. The plot is formulaic quest-structure with obvious betrayals telegraphed from the start, and the supporting cast — while colorful — is thinly written. Acting is serviceable but uneven; Arnold is charismatic yet limited, and Grace Jones is more spectacle than substance. Cinematography has some decent scope and practical creature work that holds up reasonably well for its era. Novelty is low — it recycles the sword-and-sorcery template without adding much distinctive voice or invention. The ending resolves predictably with a monster battle that feels rushed and anticlimactic.