Arnold the Barbarian meets his match in the shapely form of statuesque Brigitte Nielsen as Red Mullet, who rivals The Austrian Oak's ability with a blade while proving herself equally as inept as the musclebound star at delivering her lines. With these woefully wooden performers sharing much of the screen-time, working from a pitiful script that is heavy on the cheeze, Red Sonja is unintentionally camp, mid-80s sword and sorcery adventure that proves far more amusing than thrilling.
In the film's horribly trite opening scene, young Sonja rejects the sexual advances of evil Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman), slashing the wicked ruler's face as she struggles to escape; as a result, the queen orders her guards to kill Sonja's family and gang rape the insolent young woman. Years later, having learnt fighting skills from an old master, Sonja is given the opportunity to settle the score when she embarks on a quest to recover a powerful talisman that has been stolen by the despotic Queen Gedren. Together with man mountain Kalidor (Arnie), irritating Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes Jr.) and his willing slave Falkon (Paul L. Smith), Sonja travels to the queen's fortress to destroy the talisman and put an end to Gedren's tyranny.
Despite fairly decent production values—the film boasts impressive sets and costumery, reasonable effects (including some lovely matte paintings), spectacular cinematography, a rousing score from Ennio Morricone, and some well choreographed swordplay—Red Sonja is a rather embarrassing addition to the barbarian genre as a whole. The flat direction from Richard Fleischer renders the action scenes ineffective, the acting is diabolical, the storyline and dialogue utterly asinine, and the film's uneven tone makes it hard to figure out who the intended audience was: much of the movie seems light-hearted and rather juvenile at times, but the severed limbs and gouts of blood make it unsuitable viewing for children.
Of course, quite a few giggles can be had from the film's shoddier elements, which include a glowing wood spirit that inexplicably bestows special powers on Sonja (although just what these powers are is never really clear), Arnie riding a mechanical water dragon, Queen Gedren's giant vibrating pet spider, and a shonky steam-driven video screen that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serial from the 30s.
In the film's horribly trite opening scene, young Sonja rejects the sexual advances of evil Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman), slashing the wicked ruler's face as she struggles to escape; as a result, the queen orders her guards to kill Sonja's family and gang rape the insolent young woman. Years later, having learnt fighting skills from an old master, Sonja is given the opportunity to settle the score when she embarks on a quest to recover a powerful talisman that has been stolen by the despotic Queen Gedren. Together with man mountain Kalidor (Arnie), irritating Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes Jr.) and his willing slave Falkon (Paul L. Smith), Sonja travels to the queen's fortress to destroy the talisman and put an end to Gedren's tyranny.
Despite fairly decent production values—the film boasts impressive sets and costumery, reasonable effects (including some lovely matte paintings), spectacular cinematography, a rousing score from Ennio Morricone, and some well choreographed swordplay—Red Sonja is a rather embarrassing addition to the barbarian genre as a whole. The flat direction from Richard Fleischer renders the action scenes ineffective, the acting is diabolical, the storyline and dialogue utterly asinine, and the film's uneven tone makes it hard to figure out who the intended audience was: much of the movie seems light-hearted and rather juvenile at times, but the severed limbs and gouts of blood make it unsuitable viewing for children.
Of course, quite a few giggles can be had from the film's shoddier elements, which include a glowing wood spirit that inexplicably bestows special powers on Sonja (although just what these powers are is never really clear), Arnie riding a mechanical water dragon, Queen Gedren's giant vibrating pet spider, and a shonky steam-driven video screen that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serial from the 30s.