29
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonA bizarre, bloody adventure movie.
- 50TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxIt's undone by a murky palette, silly horror-movie cliches, dumb dialogue and a confusing climactic sequence.
- 40VarietyVarietyLike "300" and "Apocalypto," this latest bit of historical balder-dash stands in direct defiance of proven action-movie formulas, trusting its brutal concept and striking visuals to overcome a lack of star power.
- 38USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigAll cinematic creativity seems to have focused on devising the most repellent ways to maim and murder.
- 30L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyThere is one redeeming skirmish -- the climactic fight involving a snowy cliff and an elaborate pulley system -- but from the guy who's directed videos for Cher, Amy Grant, Billy Joel, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? We expected more.
- One of the funniest films of the year. That's not good news for this attempted action-adventure, which clearly lost its way in its own copious fog.
- 25Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldIt's a tedious experience in almost every way: The acting is numbingly one-note, the CGI work is unconvincing and often downright shoddy, and the action is poorly staged and framed so close you can never tell for sure who is lopping off whose head.
- 25New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithThe movie takes us on a journey to an ugly, contentious period in our misty, ancient past - all the way back to four months ago, when "Apocalypto" came out.
- 20Washington PostStephen HunterWashington PostStephen HunterMakes "Conan the Barbarian" seem like Dostoyevsky in its complexity.
- 20The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisThe director, Marcus Nispel, takes his butchery very seriously. (He was the lead vivisectionist for the remake of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.") He may not be able to make this movie move, but, man, can he make an eyeball fly.