Freedom060286

Red Sonja could have been better with a few changes. The Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes Jr.) and his servant Falkon (Paul L. Smith) were unnecessary. The boy was annoying, not amusing, and reduced my enjoyment of the movie.

Some details could have been added to the story, perhaps a little background on the keepers of the Talisman and the Kalidor character, while leaving out the parts with Tarn and his servant.

However, the cinematography was very good, and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful Brigitte Nielsen. Arnold Schwarzenegger was as expected very good in his role, as was Sandahl Bergman.

With a great cast (Conte, Robinson, Hayward) and one of the best directors of the era (Mankiewicz), I was expecting something better.

But while the acting and direction was very good, the story was poor. None of the characters were likable, except perhaps for Maria Domenico. Much of the dialogue was poorly written. The inconsistencies in the interactions between Max and Irene were annoying to watch.

There was some negative stereotyping of Italian-Americans, making them out to be untrustworthy, dishonest and selfish.

Although some people evidently like movies like this one, showing characters without honor and conflicts within a family, I do not.

This movie is based on Graham Greene's novel A Gun for Sale. It's a bit different than most, because the central character is a hit man.

The performance of Robert Ivers as Kyle Niles was very convincing. Jacques Aubuchon was likewise very good in his role as the kind of villain we love to hate. However, Richard Hale as AT seemed somewhat unrealistic as the crime boss.

The movie easily kept ones attention from beginning to end, the pace was perfect and there were no dull parts.

The character development was very good for a short movie. We gain insight into what kind of people they are, and learn their motivations because of their intelligently-written dialogue.