are you sure that you didnt mean the other way around?

I enjoy Barbarian more, but destroyer is the better film.

CtD is to CtB as Return of the Jedi is to The Empire Strikes Back.

Queen Taramis Pussy shot.
http://www.shooshshare.com/upload/2010-06-08/1276049256.jpg
Soylent Green

Yeah, this is pretty much a no-brainer.
Barbarian is simply a superior piece of film-making in every regard.

I own both, but I have a harder time watching Destroyer. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, but I like the more serious dark tone of the first movie. The one good thing about Destroyer, is that I can sit down and watch with my 7 year old. You can't do that with Barbarian, unless it's the TV edited version. I guess I'm not a big fan of the comic relief they thought they had to add to Destroyer with the sidekick. And some of the other characters are just plain cheesy or annoying. The "Bad Guys" in Barbarian are much better. You have Thulsa Doom and his minions vs the trademark evil Queen in Destroyer. Not even a close comparison. The special effects were better in Barbarian. The characters were better, the plot was better, and of course the score was better. I don't think there has been a better score for a Fantasy movie than Barbarian. Other movies have used some parts of the score in various ways. Even the Gladiator used some Barbarian music in their trailors. Destroyer to me is more like a movie that the SyFy channel would make for TV. Barbarian to me, equates more to a "Lord of the Rings" type movie. Destroyer equates to a more "Beastmaster" type movie. Just my 2 cents.

Conan the Barbarian is a good film, very nearly a great one. I own it, and have seen it many times, but, personally, I find myself watching Conan the Destroyer more often.
Is it flawed? Yes. Does it have plot holes? You bet. Bad acting? Here and there. Is it watered down compared to the first film? Most definitely. All of these criticisms made against Destroyer are absolutely true, and I won't pretend it is a good movie or even in the same league as its predecessor (although it could have been, if handled correctly).
But the reason I prefer it is because it's a "watch it anytime" movie.
Barbarian while a classic in the eyes of many is a pretty dark and serious film. Its epic scope also means a very long and involved plot. It's a movie I need to be in the right mood to watch, and I'm not in that mood very often.
Destroyer, conversely, has a fairly simplistic plot and gets right down to business from the start, with no pretense of being anything other than an excuse for half-naked guys to swipe at one another with swords and to have a gross monster at the end. I can throw it into my DVD player whenever and enjoy it
That, and, all jokes aside, I do like the idea of the jeweled horn being put in the forehead of a statue to bring it to life. It's just so ridiculous that it intrigues me. Despite the blatant reuse of the orgy chamber music from the first film, the ceremony wherein they bring Dagoth's statue to life and the chaos that ensues is one of my favorite movie climaxes ever.
So, in conclusion, Barbarian is for when you want a movie with a deep story and a serious tone, Destroyer is for when you just want to watch an action movie.

Barbarian is superior in every single way except one. Olivia D'abo. She's so hot she almost makes Destroyer tolerable. Almost.
Destroyer seems a lot slower and just not as interesting to me. Even as a little kid, after the Wizard part, I would leave about 75% of the time. That was a good enough ending for me. After that it's justblah.

You didn't like the final confrontation with Thulsa Doom? It was a perfect end for the villain, because his greatest power was manipulation. He was caught in a vulnerable position and he unleashed his most powerful weapon against Conan, his serpent's tongue. As a climax, it's much stronger than whatever is supposed to be considered the climax of Destroyer. I used to watch it in bits when it was on TV as a kid, but I've only watched it once since I bought the Conan 2-pack DVD, and honestly can't recall how the movie ends. Once is enough, it's a big letdown after watching Barbarian. And Olivia d'Abo's perfect breasts aren't enough for me to want to watch it again. To me, CtB is 9/10, CtD is like 3/10.

The first movie has,without a doubt,a better story,characters,MUSIC and atmosphereBut this sequel was good too,even if it felt a lil' less "epic" than the previous flick.
Oh well,at least there was a better final battle than the one in "Conan the Barbarian"Don't get me wrong,the battle at the mounds with Thulsa Doom's henchmen was Badass in the truest meaning of the term,but the final confrontation with Thulsa himself wasMeh,it could have been better.
Here,instead,we get a great fight with Conan pitted against a vicious monster from hellSimply great!

Barbarian is definitely the better moviebut I think I watched the Destroyer a little more when I was a kidand I still enjoy the hell out of both of them
Even the most primitive society has an innate respect for the insane.

Yes, Destroyer is better for kids.

I'm sure some pathetic illiterate living in a cave somewhere in Indonesia shares that sentiment with you. I can't see anyone else agreeing though.

I wonder if I'm the only person who hates Barbarian as much as he loves Destroyer? Am I truly the only one?
Can there be only one?

Destroyer sucked, it seemed watered down for kids, but it has lots of other problems that also made it crap.
Red Sonja is even better than Destroyer.

This message has been deleted.

Well, I think Conan The Barbarian is much better, but so many people are complainging about Destroyer, and it's not THAT bad. I mean, it's not a masterpiece in the genre like Barbarian, but it's a good entertaining fantasy film. Let's face it, there's not many decent fantasy films out there (especially not before Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter raised the bar), and this does better than most. Chamberlain and Grace Jones did pretty well (much better than I would have expected!). Malak is kind of annoying, but it's a rare fantasy movie that is not marred with some poor attempt at the comedic sidekick (Hollywood doesn't seem to get that this takes away from this type of film). The special effects are fine - not mind-blowing, but good enough. The plot is fine - it's not great literature, but it works and moves the story along. Admittedly, not really the Robert Howard stories, but at least a decent quest film.

Then obviously, Maximus, you enjoy horrid acting, slipshod plotting, and ridiculous special effects that add up to a rather cliched, monotonous movie.

Actually that got kind of tedious after a bit, what with Malak doing that to already downed guards. He's a coward. The film is still a lot of fun, though.

Personally i think Barbarian is better. Its more brutal, has a bit more plot, has better cinematogrophy and overall i think its more of a epic bad@$$ story. Destroyer isnt bad though i think it is kind of ADD on plot though it just seems like the movies story doesnt really go anywhere and the characters just wander around a lot.

LOL!! "Coming of age" story?! WTF? Who comes of age? It's not like Conan is a teenager and grows into being a man during the course of the movie!
Did you miss the first twenty minutes, where we see Conan as a boy, who then grows into a man during the Wheel of Pain scene? A coming of age is a person's transition from child to adult. We see that transition on film quite handily. Unless you have a different definition of "coming of age."

the barbarian is a coming of age epic film with a better story, stronger acting (less of arnold speaking) and the destroyer is cheesy.
LOL!!
"Coming of age"
story?! WTF? Who comes of age? It's not like Conan is a
teenager
and grows into being a man during the course of the movie! I think you just used that term because it sounded good without actually considering what it means. LOLhilarious.
Anyway, I'm not gonna argue with anyone about it, but I like both movies for different reasons, although I like Conan The Barbarian better and I think it's just a more quality movie. It's got a little more depth. That's not to say that Destroyer isn't a good movie in its own right; I like Red Sonya as well. I only wish there had been even more Conan movies. Arguing over preference, however, is practically pointless because everyone has their own tastes and we're not talking about any award-winning roles here. If we learned anything, it was that Wilt Chamberlain was more successful screwing women than he was at
acting.
"Questions are a danger to you, and a burden to others." -Mr. Krabs

the barbarian is a coming of age epic film with a better story, stronger acting (less of arnold speaking) and the destroyer is cheesy.

I love both Movies.
In Destroyer, its more fantasy, and great girls.
Barbarian its a legend well done.
What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?
Conan The Barbarian.