Red Sonja (2025) Movie Review - Spoiler Free

When a solitary nomad gets captured by a ruthless tyrant, she inspires a whole league of gladiatorial-like fighters to rise against their oppressor. 

Genre: Action / Adventure / Fantasy

Director: MJ Bassett

Cast: Matilda Lutz, Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day, Michael Bisping, Martyn Ford, Luca Pasqualino, Eliza Matengu, Rhona Mitra, Trevor Eve & Veronica Ferres.

Run Time: 110 min.

US Release: 13 August 2025 (limited)

UK Release: 08 September 2025 (direct-to-DVD)

German Release: N/A

Confession first: I never read any of the Marvel or Dynamite comics, nor Robert E. Howard’s original short story that introduced the sword-wielding “She-Devil” first. My earliest encounter with the character came through an old VHS of my parents, the 1985 film starring Brigitte Nielsen as the titular warrior, with Arnold Schwarzenegger co-starring as Lord Kalidor. Despite being a massive fantasy nerd, I was (surprisingly) never drawn to any of these stories. Still, I came across this release while vacationing in Greece, where it received a full Theatrical release, deciding to give it a shot.

When captured and forced into brutal combat, Red Sonja refuses to bow to her fate. Instead, she rallies an army of outcasts, determined to reclaim her freedom, save a kingdom and take down a tyrant, along with his ruthless bride in the process.

This movie was stuck in development hell for nearly seventeen years. Back in 2008, director Robert Rodriguez planned a version starring Rose McGowan as the titular heroine, but that iteration was ultimately scrapped. The rights then shifted to Nu Image in 2010, with producer Avi Lerner eyeing Amber Heard for the role. In 2015, Nu Image’s subsidiary Millennium Films took over, only to shelve the project again in 2019. Finally, in 2022, Basset stepped in as director, with production finally moving forward.

Meant to be an adaptation of the comic “Red Sonja”, which follows the vengeful warrior also known as the “She-Devil with a Sword”, the screenplay by Tasha Hou underwent significant rewrites by Basset herself. It quickly becomes clear that this iteration aimed to deliver a serious take on the character. Unfortunately, the limited budget, combined with notable lore changes, reduces the final product to a cheap, B-movie imitation of the graphic novels.

One of the larger issues plaguing this premise is that it seeks to establish its own direction when portraying this female hero, changing the background story, believing it improves on it. However, Red Sonja already had one of the strongest origins in the genre, defining her and serving as a source of strength. I am not saying that one needs to adapt every aspect of what happened to her, but this adaptation of the sword-wielding warrior is absolutely bland in comparison. On the contrary, the chain-mail bikini obtains a tongue-in-cheek scene, before replacing the armour with something more practical. 

The narrative also suffers from its monetary constraints. It is uneven, the pacing is all over the place, at times dragging dreadfully, while other times it feels as if it skipped segments, because the budget wouldn’t allow it to be realised on screen, what had been on paper. The complete premise seems to be derived from the first half of Conan the Barbarian and Gladiator. The stakes don’t feel high, the threat is laughably weak, and the climax is absolutely anticlimactic. 

The dialogue is a mix of wooden seriousness and over-the-top, cheesy nagging by the villains, and it's all set in a lot of exposition. Least of the jokes land, some are even cringe.

Red Sonja herself isn’t given much of a growth arc. She starts off already near-perfect, aside from her clumsy first sword fight, yet that is immediately undone in the next scene, where she suddenly slaughters an entire horde of soldiers with ease. That said, she does embody a few traits true to her character, such as her unshakable stubbornness. Matilda Lutz tries to give her emotional weight, but it never fully materialises on screen.

Draygan is by far the weakest character; a wimpy excuse for a villain who never comes close to being a satisfying antagonist. How this man conquered a kingdom defies all common logic. Robert Sheehan over-dramatises nearly every line, coming across more whiny than menacing.

Wallis Day gives an awkward performance of Dark Annisia. While some of the character’s original traits are still present, this version bizarrely lacks basic common sense, kneeling before a villain she could easily take out herself. Day seems to simply cash the cheque and move on, giving a performance that feels entirely inauthentic.

Though it boasts a solid sense of depth, the overreliance on digital cameras gives the film a synthetic look, heightened by harsh colour grading that betrays its limited funding. It is also noticeably overlit, while the sword fights often feel overly rehearsed, stripping them of suspense. That said, there are flickers of potential, especially in a handful of action sequences, yet even those moments are undermined by its B-movie aesthetics.

The set design, practical effects, and prosthetics are genuinely worthy of praise, capturing the gritty texture a world like that demands. The handcrafted elements give the environments weight, making the world feel tangible. Sadly, all that hard work is repeatedly undercut by the poor visual effects. The CGI, especially when it comes to the fantasy creatures, looks distractingly rough, pulling you out of the experience rather than enriching it.

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Verdict: While I was never interested in this character’s comics, I am familiar with the lore as well as the “She-Devil’s” backstory. Sadly, the director’s decision to rewrite her origins stripped away what made Sonja truly tragic, turning her into a “Mary Sue”. The replacement of the chain-mail bikini is justified, but her revenge-driven motivation defines her character. The villain, an original creation for this feature, is utterly threatening, sounding more like an entitled brat, while the final confrontation is absolutely anticlimactic. There are a few positives: for one, Matilda Lutz does attempt to give her lead role emotional weight, plus the practical sets and prosthetics help ground the world, with a few action sequences executed decently. Nonetheless, these few successes are overshadowed by its low budget, poor lighting, cheap digital look and sad CGI. In the end, Red Sonja feels like a soulless B-movie. It earns a 2.5 out of 10.

Have you seen this new adaptation of Red Sonja? Which one is your favourite? This new one or the 1985 version? Let me know underneath & thank you as always for reading.