#redsonja

[thecomicbookaddicts]

Altered States: Warlords #1: Dynamite Sends Red Sonja to Barsoom http://dlvr.it/TSyHCy

[thecomicbookaddicts]

Red Sonja #2 Review: Dynamite Entertainment Cuts Into Blood and Revenge http://dlvr.it/TStWXn

[thecomicbookaddicts]

Altered States: Warlords #1 Review: Dynamite Sends Red Sonja to Barsoom http://dlvr.it/TStSSt

[thecomicbookaddicts]

The Explosive Impact of Dynamite Entertainment on Modern Comic Book Culture http://dlvr.it/TSqZws

[hypeorhalo]

Red Sonja 2025, Halo or Hype?

Remember when you were a kid and wanted everything everyone else had?

You wanted to be part of the "IN" crowd, stashing 25 bucks from your school allowance just to snag a balcony seat at the local theatre for whatever blockbuster the masses were lining up to see. (Ahhh, the good 'ol days when cinema tickets were still under a hundred PH peso 😅.) Back then, when video cassette decks were the absolute pinnacle of home entertainment, I used to ridicule my mother because she loved renting low-budget action/comedy movies—the kind of B-list cinema starring Michael Dudikoff or Chuck Norris in bizarre, Hollywood-skewed versions of reality.

Let's be honest: kids thinking their taste is superior to their parents' isn't a generational quirk; it’s a universal rite of passage. And yes, Chuck Norris is absolutely a B-lister, regardless of his legendary internet meme status. I never understood her preference, until the cinematic universe pulled a fast one on me: I started becoming exactly like her.

By my mid-30s, I found myself hunting down DVDs of low-budget movies (LBMs) and genuinely enjoying them. It turns out we eventually morph into the very things we judged our parents for.

Which brings us to Red Sonja (2025)—a modern remake of a fantasy/action-adventure flick that is, like it's predecessor, totally forgettable, even for hardcore sword-and-sorcery aficionados like me who usually swallow this genre whole.

The Practical, the Historical, and the Surprisingly Good

Let’s start with where the money actually made it onto the screen. Given the production's modest constraints, the practical and CG effects are surprisingly well-executed. The digital creatures blend seamlessly into the backgrounds, avoiding that cheap, green-screen glow that usually plagues mid-tier fantasy reboots. There is a tangible texture to the world that outpunches its weight class.

Equally impressive is the cultural world-building. The film accurately depicts multi-racial tribes, which makes historical sense given the nomadic groups roaming what resembles the western archipelago's topography during the era of barbarians. Instead of defaulting to the standard, whitewashed Euro-fantasy tropes, the film embraces a broader, more expansive canvas that gives the setting some much-needed gravity.

Then there is the combat. The action sequences are a massive upgrade from the 1985 source material. In the original, you could practically see the actors intentionally clashing their swords together, completely devoid of any real intent to strike their opponent. To be fair, that was the industry standard of the era; stunt coordinators simply weren’t given the creative liberty or time they enjoy today. (Think of the original Star Wars duel between Obi-Wan and Vader—absolute trash choreography by today’s standards ).

In this 2025 iteration, the swordplay has weight, friction, and genuine stakes. The choreography leans into brutality rather than pageantry, making the battlefield feel genuinely hazardous.

The Technical Glitches and Modern Distractions

Unfortunately, while the front-end action delivers, the back-end execution stumbles hard. The film's pacing and narrative hooks are incredibly generic. The script struggles to sustain tension between its major set pieces, causing the momentum to sag. I found myself checking my phone every so often while the film was playing—a telling sign that the storytelling wasn't doing its job.

Compounding this narrative drift are some incredibly sloppy technical oversight. The editor clearly dropped the ball in post-production, leaving a cut where Sonja’s modern bra strap is visibly showing. In a genre completely dependent on historical immersion and escapism, spotting modern synthetic undergarments completely shatters the illusion. It’s a glaring continuity error that screams a lack of attention to detail.

Heavy-Handed Agendas and Empty Motivation

The writing doesn't fare much better when it tries to establish deeper meaning. The film suffers from a highly predictable plot burdened by an obvious religious agenda that awkwardly recurs throughout multiple scenes. Rather than letting the mythology develop naturally, the movie repeatedly pauses to beat the audience over the head with thematic messaging that feels incredibly forced.

By the time the third act rolls around, character logic dissolves entirely. The motivation driving the other damnists to follow Sonja into the final conflict is vague and completely unmotivated. There is no earned emotional payoff or narrative bridge to explain why these cynical, self-serving survivors would suddenly risk everything for a devoid cause or the cliche to do "what's right". They methodically line up to fight because the script requires a climax, not because their journeys led them there.

Final Thoughts

So, is it a good movie? Not really. It’s a feature built entirely on hype. To be fair, the original source material didn't exactly set a high bar to aim for, so clearing it isn't much of an achievement, which unfortunately, this film wasn't able to do.

If you share my soft spot for low-budget action movies, you might find some superficial entertainment in the creature design and the visceral sword fighting. But as a cohesive piece of filmmaking, it’s a generic, poorly edited distraction that can't even hide its own wardrobe malfunctions.

Verdict: Max Hype

It doesn't possess the nostalgic charm required to push it past hype-status, and the modern marketing is entirely hollow if at all, exists. It's the ultimate background movie—perfect for scrolling through your phone while the swords clash in the background

[mythicveilart]

Red Sonja

[nunovilhenasantos]

Red Sonja (2025) ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

[thecomicbookaddicts]

GIANT-SIZED SAVAGE TALES #1 Review: Dynamite’s Brutal Spring Anthology http://dlvr.it/TSGP8c