Introduction
Sometimes a movie’s primary duty is simple: offer a couple of hours of escape. M.J. Bassett’s Red Sonja succeeds at exactly that. It isn’t an awards bait picture, but it aims to entertain—and it largely delivers.
Background and Development
Bringing Robert E. Howard’s warrior back to cinemas has been a long saga. The character last appeared on screen in 1985 when Brigitte Nielsen starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. Over the years filmmakers such as Simon West, Robert Rodriguez and Bryan Singer were linked to a revival, and names like Amber Heard, Rose McGowan and Megan Fox were floated for the role.
Ultimately British director M.J. Bassett, who previously adapted Howard with 2009’s Solomon Kane, shepherded the character back to life for 2025. Bassett’s version centers on Matilda Lutz, known for Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge, stepping into Sonja’s iconic chain mail armor—played here with clear discomfort and agency rather than objectification.
Plot Summary
The film opens with a brutal prologue in which Sonja’s tribe is annihilated. Years later the grown Sonja assembles a band of fighters to oppose the sinister Emperor Dragan t...