TIFF Review: Solomon Kane
Solomon Kane
Written and Directed by Michael J. Bassett
Starring: James Purefoy, Pete Postlethwaite, Max Von Sydow and Rachel Hurd-Wood
For those of you not familiar with Solomon Kane as a character, here’s a quick lesson: Robert E. Howard, the legendary creator of Conan the Barbarian, created Solomon Kane back in the pulp-era. A 16th century Puritan, with a sombre outlook. A valiant leader and fighter armed with a rapier, a dagger and two flintlock pistols, pale skin, cold eyes, dressed in black, shadowed by a slouch hat.
Solomon Kane was once a man of pure evil. Killing and stealing as he pleased. But this life of pillaging and plundering in North Africa in the late 1500’s has got the attention of the Devil and the Devil has layed claim to Solomon Kane’s tortured and lost soul. The only way for him to save his soul is to redeem himself, forget his past and take on a life of peace. That, however, does not last.
After leaving North Africa and heading home to England, Solomon takes up residence in a church to begin his inner healing process. Forced to leave as his past is revealed, he is welcomed into a traveling family of good-hearted people and joins them on their journey. Sadly, it is discovered that England is in trouble. An evil sorcerer has built a demonic army and is destroying town after town. Enslaving the good citizens or leaving them with death and destruction. When the army attacks the good family that Solomon has taken up with, he renounces the good in him and takes up the fight to avenge them and rescue their kidnapped daughter.
I didn’t come into this with any expectations as I had never read anything about the character or any stories about him for that matter. Come to think of it, I’ve never read anything by Robert E. Howard.   The main problem I had with this movie was that it was boring. It follows a familiar path that never adds anything new.   Lost soul that finds the error of his ways? I’ve seen that a hundred times. It’s a story criticsim and in an era of film making that is jam-packed with re-boots and remakes, I need a little more than that.
In Solomon Kane, you get your swash-buckling fix. Sword fights and bloodshed aplenty. James Purefoy’s Solomon has a little more depth than Ahnuld’s Conan, but the style and themes are the same. Director Michael J. Bassett doesn’t bring anything to the screen that we haven’t seen before and Solomon Kane turns out to be typical fare of the genre. – Greg