Ronon Dex ... as Conan the Barbarian?

[FoE]

OK, not Ronon Dex the character. The actor who plays him, Jason Momoa. He's been cast as Conan the Barbarian, apparently.

As a big Conan fan, I'm ... not certain how I feel about this. Certainly, he's a better pick than some yutz from Twilight. Certainly, he has an imposing physical stature and he looks the part of a warrior.

But all I've ever seen him play is Ronon, and Ronon is not Conan. Ronon was a lot more surly and revenge-driven. Conan could be melancholy and didn't suffer fools too gladly, but he could also laugh at a joke and could be pleasant to be around. Also, I can't really speak to Momoa's abilities at seducing comely wenches.

Then again, maybe it doesn't matter. He could be the best possible candidate, but if the movie stinks around him, they could have picked anyone. And it's very easy to make a bad Conan movie, given the over-the-top subject matter.

[Hawriel]

Just googled him for an image. He is not Conan.

[arguskos]

I'm sorry, but unless he looks like so:
http://feministatsea.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/arnold-schwarzenegger-conan-the-barbarian-c10102051.jpeg
he will never be Conan to me.

[Seraph]

he looks more like the conan illustrations than arnold ever did, certainly.

[LurkerInPlayground]

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/stargate-atlantis/images/jason-momoa-2.jpg

Yeah, I'm not seeing it.

[Hadessniper]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY_cRCcW3yQ

Honestly I think he will be great. The only thing not quite perfect about him is that he isn't as steroidy as he could be but he is still buff and I buy him as an ass kicker so I don't mind.

[LurkerInPlayground]

Yes, but he looks anemically civilized.

Conan isn't merely supposed to be an ass-kicker. He's supposed to be a "noble savage" of sorts. A barbarian. A guy who is simple, but not stupid. Basically, Conan has no civilized pretensions whatsoever. He does what he wants to do when he wants to do it without being constrained by social rules.

In short, if he's being politically backstabbed, and he catches wind of it, he'll smash that guy's face in because it's his only form of defense when the law isn't on his side. He may free a captive woman from a tribe by exterminating the tribe, even if women are normally treated as war trophies.

Jason Mamoa looks more like a plucky thief of the Howard's Conan. Or one of those guys who tries to stab him in the back. Or a guy who is temporarily around Conan because they both have a mutual enemy or interest.

[Zaydos]

Jason Mamoa looks more like a plucky thief of the Howard's Conan. Or one of those guys who tries to stab him in the back. Or a guy who is temporarily around Conan because they both have a mutual enemy or interest.

This. I have never been satisfied with Arnold as Conan, at least not since I read the books, but Jason Mamoa is just too small. He looks like a side-kick to Conan not the barbarian himself.

[Hadessniper]

Jason Mamoa is just too small. He looks like a side-kick to Conan not the barbarian himself.

He is 6'5 and he will more then likely bulk up before he shoots.

[LurkerInPlayground]

He is 6'5 and he will probably bulk up before he shoots.
I'm not sure that it's so much the buff thing as that he doesn't seem like the character of Howard's stories.

Jason looks more like a warrior who is familiar with civilized treachery and conniving. Conan isn't a conniver. He just doesn't operate that way.

And I know that actors that are as physically bulky as Arnold is rare. But even then, a lot of master thieves and fighting noblemen who were the conniving type were still pretty athletic.

[Hadessniper]

Jason looks more like a warrior who is familiar with civilized treachery and conniving. Conan isn't a conniver. He just doesn't operate that way.

So what your saying in a nutshell is that you don't like that he has a goatee and that his eyebrows are pointed making him look untrustworthy?

[LurkerInPlayground]

So you don't like that he has a goatee and that his eyebrows are pointed making him look untrustworthy is what your saying in a nutshell?
Hmm. Point.

http://snagwiremedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/jason-momoa-06.jpg
But even then, I don't see him as the hale-and-hearty savage type.

Maybe he can act that part, but he doesn't look it.

It's not merely "he has a goatee." It's that he looks civilized. And expects others to act civilized on his terms.

[Hadessniper]

It's not merely "he has a goatee." It's that he looks civilized. And expects others to act civilized on his terms.

Tell me he looks civilized here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nllAcmQTOjs

But I do get what your saying too. He doesn't quite have the classic Conan feel, but who would you rather have?

[FoE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY_cRCcW3yQ

That scene does have a very Conan-esque flavour to it, doesn't it? I think Conan has been in no less than 500 situations where guardsmen or soliders were abusing some poor woman and he jumped in to save her. The lead guard even uses the phrase "impudent tongue." :smallbiggrin:


But I do get what you're saying too. He doesn't quite have the classic Conan feel, but who would you rather have?

For a time, I was heartened to learn that the Rock was going to play Conan. He had the right look. But while he put in a decent effort during the Scorpion King, he didn't 'wow' me.

[Arcanoi]

No. Just no. Arnold will always be Conan to me, no matter how deliciously bad those movies were.

And no. He does not look the part. This does not mean he won't do well in the part (I, for instance, never thought Daniel Craig looked a particularly good Bond), but whenever I watch the movie it will always niggle the back of my mind. He simply doesn't look the part of the Noble Byronic Savage, able to challenge Gods and Kingdoms with innate tenacity and sheer bad-assery.

And neither of those scenes was Conan. He doesn't do 'Guile'. He just kills you. He kills you with his fists, he kills you with his sword, and he doesn't need 30 seconds to kill 5 mooks.

[Hadessniper]

I don't know I guess I just don't like the steroid look. Jason Momoa is closer to what an actual barbarian would have looked like then Arnold is.

[FoE]

No. Just no. Arnold will always be Conan to me, no matter how deliciously bad those movies were.

Arnold looked the part, certainly, but I can't say as much about his acting ... There's a reason he was mostly silent in the first film.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I can only hope that they at least get the right look down. It's not hard to find an actor with black hair and icy blue eyes...or to use contacts and hair dye to change that. And most importantly, to put some ****ing armor on Conan! Cover art be damned, the man knew fighting with swords without protection would get you killed!

That said, while I think the Rock could make a good Conan character, I don't think that character is or should be Conan himself. The Dragon maybe, or perhaps an ally, but as racist as Robert Howard might have been, he was rather specific about certain details and the Rock seems more Stygian to me then Cimmerian.

[Arcanoi]

I don't know I guess I just don't like the steroid look. Jason Momoa is closer to what an actual barbarian would have looked like then Arnold is.

It doesn't matter what an ACTUAL Barbarian would have looked like. It matters what CONAN looks like.

And Conan looked like this.


http://doodiepants.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/conanearlnoremjr1.jpg

NOTE: Scantily-Clad Female and Mound of Corpses not optional.

[thorgrim29]

So.... Eddie Riggs is Canan?

[Callos_DeTerran]

So.... Eddie Riggs is Canan?

Eddie Riggs (whomever he is) wishes he was Conan. :smalltongue:

[pita]

For ASOIAF fans, this guy's also going to be Khal Drogo, which is pretty good casting.
I would've gone with Vin Diesel+Wig as Conan, but this can also be good.

[FoE]

Eddie Riggs (whomever he is)

The protagonist of Brutal Legend, I believe.


I would've gone with Vin Diesel+Wig as Conan, but this can also be good.

Gods no.

Actually, I heard Jared Padelecki (Dean Winchester) was in the running.

[LurkerInPlayground]

The problem with Conan is that he is basically too many things at once.

He has to be simple without being stupid. Savage without being evil. Sullen but quite willing to live on the edge. Graceful yet so very brutal and straightforward. And so on.

[SilverSheriff]

Mamoa will do the job and he will do it better than Schwarzenegger, trust me I should know a little something about Barbarians; being one and all...

[Freshmeat]

I'm not really seeing it either. He indeed seems too civilized - like he's some kind of urban thug who keeps a cool head at all times and works out at the gym every day. Schwarzenegger Conan had this kind of brutish, savage, get-lost-'finesse'-and-'style'-because-PURE-MANLY-STRENGTH-is-where-it's-at thing going on. Few lines, but all muscle. In other words, a classic pulp barbarian.

Then again, Momoa's appearance is rather hard to pin down as he may look a whole lot different in a barbarian get-up and with a different (facial) hairstyle perhaps.

[Pronounceable]

http://acplteens.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/heath-ledger.jpg
This guy's gonna be the Joker? Pfah! What were they smoking? This gonna be the worst movie EVA!!1!

[Johel]

So.... Eddie Riggs is Conan?

Could do if the game's tune was a bit darker.
As it stands, our roadie is still awesome.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

http://acplteens.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/heath-ledger.jpg
This guy's gonna be the Joker? Pfah! What were they smoking? This gonna be the worst movie EVA!!1!
Yeah, casting decisions always seem odd until you see how they've done it.

This guy is going to be Aragorn? (http://ellengraham.com/html/viggo/print_files/Untitled-2.jpg)

[darkblade]

http://www.rockymusic.org/img/priscilla/Priscilla-AliceSpringsShowL.png

This guy is Agent Smith and Elrond. So yeah many actors are incredibly versatile in the parts they can play. Give him a chance.

Also while we are at it.

This guy (http://geekofalltrades.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/conan.jpg) is also this guy. (http://www.virginmedia.com/images/mr-freeze.jpg) Momoa still too civilized for you?

[Arcanoi]

Queen of the Desert cannot be compared to other movies. Above poster gets -1 for lack of context.

[darkblade]

Why not? You're saying someone can't play one part because he played a different part that was nothing like the part he is going to play.

So I showed you an actor who played a man in black/computer virus, an elven king and a drag queen. Three very different parts all played by the same man.

[Seraph]

Why not? You're saying someone can't play one part because he played a different part that was nothing like the part he is going to play.

So I showed you an actor who played a man in black/computer virus, an elven king and a drag queen. Three very different parts all played by the same man.

yes, but you see, your post is proving him wrong.

[Arcanoi]

No, it's not. Read my post, please.



He does not look the part. This does not mean he won't do well in the part (I, for instance, never thought Daniel Craig looked a particularly good Bond), but whenever I watch the movie it will always niggle the back of my mind.


I never said that it meant an actor couldn't do WELL at a part, resulting in a good movie. I just said that it would bother me personally whenever I watched it.

Also, that's my stance on ANYTHING pertaining to Felicia: Queen of the Desert. It cannot be compared to other movies. Ever.

[darkblade]

So basically if he doesn't look exactly like Arnold he automatically becomes a bad Conan?

Also out of curiosity why can't Priscilla: Queen of the Desert be compared to other movies?