Conan the Barbarian

Robert E. Howard’s pulp-fiction hunk is back in the glistening, buffed-out form of Jason Momoa, on the trail of an evil magician (Stephen Lang) and his Freddy Krueger-fingered daughter (Rose McGowan), seeking vengeance for the murder of his father (Ron Perlman) and the destruction of his village. They in turn are hunting a female monk (Rachel Nichols) whose blood will further their scheme to dominate the Hyborian world, so Conan and the monk naturally team up to fight their mutual enemies. Momoa and Nichols strike few sparks, and neither has the presence to stand out from the CGI scenery and cardboard characters with names that sound like bad Scrabble hands. Memo to director Marcus Nispel: When a movie takes place in relentlessly dark caves, castles and forests, 3-D is a hindrance rather than a help.