Shadows on the Wall

Red Sonja

dir MJ Bassett
scr Tasha Huo
prd Avi Lerner, Mark Canton, Courtney Solomon, Luke Lieberman, Les Weldon
with Matilda Lutz, Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day, Michael Bisping, Philip Winchester, Trevor Eve, Luca Pasqualino, Rhona Mitra, Martyn Ford, Ben Radcliffe, Veronica Ferres, Urs Rechn
release US 15.Aug.25,
UK 18.Aug.25
25/US 1h50

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Set in a prehistoric land filled with mythical critters and scary mechanical weapons, this action fantasy has an ambitious tone as director MJ Bassett deploys sweeping camerawork, spectacular settings and thunderous music. Oddly, while there are a few sparky nods to the camp vibe, she never leans into the over-earnest silliness that informs the characters and dialog. This makes the movie both frustrating to watch and unintentionally entertaining.

After her village is levelled by raiders, the orphaned Sonja (Lutz) grows up in the woods, at one with nature and watched over by the gods as she seeks other survivors. Assisted by her trusty horse, she strives to bring murderous marauders to justice. Her path soon crosses with the merciless Emperor Draygan (Sheehan), who is determined to conquer magic with knowledge, but needs to find the second half of an important book to complete his plan. Captured, Sonja is forced to battle in his arena, gladiator-style. But she leads her fellow slaves to revolt.

There are terrific giant creatures here and there, and the action sequences are nicely staged, but everything is played with such a straight face that it's hard to take seriously, especially the more emotive dramatic beats. Throwaway jokes and witty moments hint at how much fun this could have been. For her first battle, Sonja is given a chain-mail bikini, because the crowd will love it. Sure enough, she wins over the audience with her feisty sword skills and goes on to cause plenty of trouble for Draygan.

Lutz has strong presence as a young woman who strains against the relentless cruelty of powerful men. She also takes the time to flirt with hot fellow slave fighter Osin (Pasqualino), developing some enjoyable chemistry in the process. Her gladiatorial cohorts also include the beefy Hawk (Bisping) and elfin cutie Daix (Radcliffe). While Sheehan's amusingly overconfident brainiac Draygan is accompanied by his fearsome amazonian bride Annisia (Day) and the thuggish brute Karlak (Ford).

Eye-catching set-pieces hold the interest, from the arena battles to a messy skirmish in a burning forest. The plot charges forward with blunt force, and the violence is genuinely nasty, including sudden grisly deaths for key characters. But there's little doubt where all of this is headed, especially after the gods give Sonja even redder hair and more intentional focus to restore balance to the world and use knowledge for goodness instead of nastiness. And an epilog looks to further adventures.

11.Aug.25
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