Red Sonja (2009): Return to Sword-and-Sorcery

The 80's was truly a heyday for fantasy films. With Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Conan the Barbarian, and others, this decade brought the genre to life, building off years of experimentation and improvements. Had it not been for Ray Harryhausen's classic stop-motion enhanced films, such as Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts, and Jim Henson's innovations in puppetry, coupled with George Lucas's pioneering visual effects, the 80's would have been very dull indeed.

In 1985, audiences beheld Red Sonja. Really, we weren't sure what to think. The plot was a bit formulaic: sorceress/Queen kills title character's parents, later wreaks more havoc on the land, title character rises up to overthrow said sorceress/Queen. The film details the adventure of Red Sonja journeying to seek revenge on Queen Gedren.

Critics derided the film, and audiences did not turn out in droves. Even top-name actor Arnold Schwarzeneggar could not lift the film. To this day, the Governator calls this the worst film he ever made. All in all, the film isn't terrible. It's just too common. The film looks too much like another Conan movie, even featuring the actor who played Conan! The sword-and-sorcery elements, while still neat, are just cliche and overused, even for the time period. Bad acting and characterization make the film into more of a B-movie.

So why would anyone think of remaking this film? Well, that's where things get interesting.

Most people know Red Sonja from the 80's film, but Sonja herself had a history in comic books before that. She appeared in Conan the Barbarian as a female barbarian, but one just as strong and capable as the mighty Conan. Was it an attempt at feminism, or simple a move to sell more comics to men by featuring a scantily-clad woman on the cover? Who knows?

Sonja now has her own comic series and appears in frequent one-shot stories and cameos in other works. The film was not an original work, but an adaptation of the character from the Conan series. Conan received his film earlier. In one sense, the 1985 film could be considered a spin-off of Conan.

But with the strong interest in the past today, plans were announced at Comic Con '08 to release a new Red Sonja film.

At the director's chair for the film is Robert Rodriguez. At Comic Con, he released that he is shooting for an R rating. Why? "My name is 'Double R.' We're gonna give you a Double R baby!" He promised the film would be cold, hard, bloody, and dirty. Wow! Well, that is in keeping with the barbarian concept, and well in line with the source material.

Plot details only mention that Sonja will come to be the most feared woman warrior in all the land and seek to destroy the forces of Kulan Gath. A bit removed from 1985's Gedren. In the title role is Charmed's Rose McGowan.

Filming began in October of 2008, and the film is slated for release in either the last quarter 2009 or first quarter 2010. But is it a remake? Since this film and the last both springboarded off a comic book source material, calling this film a remake is not really accurate. This film is an adaptation of the source, not a remake of the 1985 film. But perhaps this film can succeed where the previous Red Sonja failed.