Pulp writer Robert E. Howard’s most famous creation was Conan the Barbarian. Not quite as well-known is another of Howard’s characters, Solomon Kane. A Puritan living in the 16th century, the mysterious Kane vanquished evil in the name of God. He was clad in a dark cloak, wide-brimmed hat, and armed with a rapier and flintlock pistol. While Conan has received two films starring the current governor of California, Solomon Kane has yet to receive any cinematic attention. Until now, that is.
Writer/director Michael J. Bassett helms the first of a proposed trilogy of films nominally based on Howard’s stories. While Solomon Kane is supposedly an adaptation, it isn’t drawn from any specific tale. Bassett provides largely original material and sets the picture up as an origin story.
Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) is introduced as a pirate ruthlessly killing and pillaging anything in his path. Hunting for gold in North Africa, Kane is confronted by a demon that might as well be Satan’s debt collector. Told his soul has been damned by his evil ways, Kane repents and finds his way to a monastery in England in order to live a life of peace. One day, Kane is told by his brother monk to leave the temple and find his place in the world.
Traveling to his ancestral home in Devon, Kane comes across the Crowthorne family who are soon attacked by the forces of a sorcerer known as Malachi (Jason Flemyng). The family is brutally murdered and the daughter, Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood), is taken prisoner. Kane renounces his vow of peace and sets off to rescue Katherine and confront the past he has tried to run away from.
Working with a medium-sized budget, Bassett has crafted a slick production. However, the movie is severely hamstringed by a weak script. Bassett follows the current Hollywood predilection for reboots and origin stories. Any mystique found in the character of Solomon Kane is lost amidst a series of flashbacks to the man’s various childhood traumas. Thus, Kane has been diluted into another grizzled and generic superhero. Honestly, what’s wrong with a little mystery to the hero? Would Fistful of Dollars be improved by a 40-minute prologue revealing in excruciating detail the Man With No Name’s entire backstory?
Trivia Note: This isn’t the first time James Purefoy has worn a cloak and wide-brimmed hat. He was originally cast as the lead in V For Vendetta before departed in mid-production, being replaced by Hugo Weaving.
Rating: * ½
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