Sunday, May 09, 2010

Solomon Kane Movie review

New review!



First of all. I know nothing about the character, nor the story of Solomon Kayne other then that he is from the creator of Conan. Now, I'm a avid Conan fan (since 9-10 years) but when I heard there was going to be a movie about this character, I literally jumped for joy since I think Robert E. Howard creates such fantastic tales and worlds.

I also found it quite intriguing that its wasn't your typical "Holly-film" with big names. This is a trend that have existed for a long, long time but lately filmmakers have begun to direct outside of the corporate system in order not to have the investors ruin the movies. Fine examples of this is recent movies like The Hurt Locker, Moon, District 9, and lately Kick-ass. this is a really good trend and since its become easier for filmmakers to apply effects and such they can limit their budget quite. Another thing is that you also get unknown actors really that fit the movie structure and arcs needed. Plus there is now way of them just hamming it up through the movie, as big stars sometimes tend to do.

But this movie has its sheer amount of stars. Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) is a mercenary of Queen Elizabeth's army fighting in Africa, where he comes face-to-face with the Devil's Reaper – a demon who collects the Devil's debts i.e. souls – refusing to go to hell just yet, he evades the Reaper and starts a new life in an English monastery. With this new life, Solomon has left-behind his culture of violence and bloodshed and instead now embraces the values of peace and non-values. But once he is expelled from the monastery due to the fear of the Devil's Reaper returning, he must travel back to his home in Devon and along the way he befriends a travelling family of puritans heading to the New World. On their journey through the British counties, the family is attacked, and their daughter Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is abducted by the evil sorcerer Malachi's army, which is lead on the front lines by the mysterious Masked Rider. Now a man of peace, Solomon must go back to his former life as a man of unrepentant violence and destruction to save Meredith.

Kane is real douche in the start of the movie and I found little remorse or empathy for his ways of getting to the goal, but after his encounter, he is truly a "changed" man and he then starts to form a bond with the traveling family. His sins are never forgotten as his speaks clearly about his past. There is no sugarcoating here. He has done terrible things. We learn that as a young boy he was forced into priesthood by his father (Max von Sydow), but refused and ran away from home. Leaving the empire that his father and brother now rule in, he sets of for gold and glory

The characters both look and feels genuine. The costume is top-notch and highly authentic.
Some of the main characters are introduced a bit to late. Like the main baddie Malichi, who controls the mysterious rider and his army of corrupted. He is only spoken for thought the movie but only shows up the last 5 minutes. A small intro/encounter of this character would have been a huge improvement for the main arc

The atmosphere is what sells the movie and is superb and really sets the mood. Its half-snowing, foggy and plain eerie. It bears all the markings of a fantasy landscape and interesting setting. It also helps that there is dead people and crows everywhere. Hanging from trees getting their skin devoured. Its raining and theres mud all over. The filming must have been hell, but it really pays of and gives the movie a right feel. Its the way a Robert E. Howard movie should look and feel. Desolate plains, castles and villages, brewing with dark magic and all covered in strong religious themes.

I had a blast watching this. The pacing is for the most part good and felt proper for such a movie of this genre. Its a good romp and a fun time. The actions are believable. Characters could have been developed a bit more as well as interacted more. The story kinda unfolds along the way. giving it a unpredictable ending. Theres a lot of gore and fast-paced action shots. The fighting is quite good and topped of with some amazing slow-motion sequences. There is also quite a lot of effects in this movie and they do look on par with most big budget movies nowadays. the costume design and atmosphere is really a breath of fresh air and gives the movie a solid style.

Despite being a "low budget" film, the director get the most out of it and then some. If your a fan of the fantasy/action genre, then this is a must watch!

Score: 9/10


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