Solomon Kane

 

Mystical, bloody, sweaty, smoky, scary, gritty, damp, snow covered, and intense. These are the words that bring back memories of either Seattle, WA or the kick ass film I watched last night:  Solomon Kane  

Solomon Kane is writer/director Michael J. Bassett’s story depicting the origins of  Robert E. Howard’s   Solomon Kane (James Purefoy). The film introduces our lead as a rouge marauder full of questionable morals. Kane and his band of thugs lay siege to a castle in hopes of gaining riches from the inhabitants. What they find is a castle full of malevolence. At this point we realize that Kane is a cursed man, owing the devil his soul. Kane battles a lich and then we cut away to a future time where Kane has sworn off evil deeds for a life of peace.

Forced from his home we find Kane at the hands of thieves who take advantage of his new lease on life, almost costing him his. By the graces Kane finds himself in the caring hands of the William Crowthorn (played by (Pete Postlethwaite) family. Kane travels the countryside with the Crowthorns when trouble find Kane and the Crowthorns. A battle ensues and Kane makes realizes he can no longer sit idle while evil triumphs. We can all imagine what happens from here.

This movie works well on a number of levels. Michael Bassett did a great job of providing the back story for Solomon Kane. If you know nothing of Solomon Kane (like your author) you will walk away with a total appreciation of the character wanting more.

One thing I am excited about is the potential for this character. Robert E. Howard wrote a number of different stories describing the adventures of Solomon Kane. I hope to one day more of these stories make it to the screen.

Accompanying  a well crated story, the visuals in this movie are exceptional. The creators of this film did a great job of immersing you into the world of Solomon Kane. The whole movie gives you a sense of the harsh climate that these people lived in. The landscape of this film remind me of a smoldering campfire after a late night camping. The smoke clings to every molecule of your existence, cold creeps under your wool clothes and the elements (copious amounts of rain and snow) add to your misery. These storytellers made you feel like you were there. The only thing missing was the actual smell of rotting flesh.

Complimenting the visuals, the battle scenes were top notch. One of my favorite scenes in “sword movies” is the battle scene at the beginning of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. The brutal depiction of the battle between the Romans and the Germanic Barbarians was a brilliant piece of film making. This movie takes that experience to 11. This movie has numerous battle scenes ranging from epic to up close and personal. You could almost feel the swoosh of the blades and the dripping of sweat on your being.

This movie works well on so many levels. I hope you find yourself in a dark theatre watching this great piece of work.

Thanks,

Rodman

Explore posts in the same categories: Action, Adventure, Fantastic Fest 2009