Brigitte Nielsen, as Conan creator Robert E. Howard's female warrior Red Sonja, gets an assist from Arnold Schwarzenegger in this enjoyably campy, Italian-lensed sword & sorcery adventure. Nielsen's thespian skills may be a bit stiff, but she certainly fills out the physical demands of the role, which asks her to look impressive with a sword as she avenges the death of her priestess sister and the theft of a sacred orb by an evil queen (Sandahl Bergman, also from the '82 theatrical Conan and a match for Nielsen's acting ability). Schwarzenegger (not playing Howard's barbarian king) lends some star power in a supporting role as a warrior assisting Sonja, and if the film stumbles in the acting, scripting, and special-effects departments, Richard Fleischer's direction and cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno are appropriately action-heavy and comic-book colorful (Fleischer also directed Conan the Destroyer and The Vikings); Ennio Morricone's bombastic score is another plus. --Paul Gaita
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: awesome movie Comment: this is a awesome movie if u like arnold in conan then u will like this movie Customer Rating: Summary: Great! Comment: This is a movie I grew up watching, so being able to find it on DVD, and for such a low price,was fantastic. Maybe not a great movie per se, but it appealed to my nostalgia. Fast shipping and great service, as always. Customer Rating: Summary: That other Conan film ... what's it called? Comment: This half-forgotten film is in the classic style of Schwarzenegger's Conan films but not titled as such and with a consequent loss of market. That is a pity because it is almost the equal of the others. Also, the heroine is a red-head, which helps spice up the red-ragging rage-queen vs muscle boy image. Customer Rating: Summary: Before Sly Stallone ... Comment: A minor character in a Robert E. Howard historical story, Marvel turned it into a monthly character in the same world as Conan. Dino ("My Konk is big!") De Laurentis brought it to the big screen with director Richard Fleischer, fresh off his failed CONAN THE DESTROYER. If anything, this bugger is even worse. Now I know that is saying alot. Arnold is in it as a character who is really SUPPOSED to be Conan and Brigitte Nielson in the title role. Sandahl Bergman (Valeria in CTB) is an evil queen in pursuit of a deadly orb of power and wiping out anyone in her path. Customer Rating: Summary: Sonja needs no help from any man---except maybe an acting teacher Comment: This film is campy and awful that it rates up there with Showgirls for camp value. Brigette Nielsen is wooden as the fiery haired warrior who wants to avenge her slain family. Half the time I can barely understand her when she's not wielding her sword. Poor Arnold; this was a very lousy follow-up to the great Conan series.
