Review of Solomon Kane (2009) by Stevenf — 28 Mar 2013

James Purefoy puts in an emotional and commanding performance as pulp magazine hero Solomon Kane, the privateer who soon pays the price from the devil and lives a life of redemption.

The plot in this film acts as an origin story for the character, as we begin with a very merciless and egotistical Kane bombarding his way into a fortress of treasure, only to be driven out by "The Devils Reaper", damning his soul to the devil.

As Solomon flees back to England, he now attempts to live a life of piece, adorning his body in various religious symbols to protect himself from the devil.

As he is again driven out to embark o another journey, he happens across the Crowthorns, a family on their way to The New World.

But tragedy strikes along the way and Solomon must renounce his promise of a peaceful life and once again become a warrior, to search for Meredith Crowthorn (Rachel Hurd-Wood) who has been taken by the evil sorcerer, Malachi.

The film is a mini-epic in every way, combining visually stunning fight scenes and a very enthralling story that is well written and solidly directed. It takes many visual cues from the likes of Lord of the Rings and succeeds, attempting to put a riveting story and beautiful scenes side by side, and most of the time succeeding. It certainly takes advantage of the beautiful scenery and snow covered tops to bringing a big-budget feel to it.

James Purefoy is well placed as our anti-hero, his charm yet unrelenting charisma rings true to the original creation. Mackenzie Crook also makes an appearance as a shady priest, and the late Pete Postlethwaite puts in a dignified and friendly performance as William Crowthorne. The only the gripe I have is perhaps the finale of the story, which seemed almost to chid-friendly, compared to the excellent and typically sombre tone at the beginning, similar in moments to Defiance. The ending wasn't necessarily a letdown, but it all came across cartoony and seemed a bit cliche and perhaps too rushed.

But apart from that, the film is a raging success, and deserves much more credit that it has, lets hope the planned sequels do indeed go ahead.