Now here’s an example of a movie that should have been released wide in the United States, but for reasons unknown Solomon Kane opened in a limited number of theaters around the country. The action filled period piece generates a lot of excitement with its creative storyline that more than targets teens to twenties. Excellent cinematography and special effects combined with very good direction and star quality performances of the electrifying script makes the Blu-ray release a hit.
The 16th Century story centers on English Captain Solomon Kane who while in his youth leaves his kingdom prince hood for a life that leads to pirating and plundering. He makes a bad choice to attack an evil North African country and gets condemned to hell by the Devil, but during the conflict he makes a narrow escape. Months later we find Solomon at an Abbey where he denounces God. They force him to leave the Monastery urging him to spread the word of God and seek salvation for his damned soul. When he gets an opportunity to escape being sent to Hades, he makes a surprising decision.
The film gets very intense during the opening battle scenes showing Solomon’s brutal rage even in a his match with an Evil Spirit. Director Michael J. Bassett keeps the film intriguing with twists and turns as Solomon tries to surmount each obstacle thrown at him. He keeps his main characters likable and the villains vicious while making the story an adventure of life, death and redemption.
James Purefoy (The Following– TV) takes his character from innocent to darkness then back again. His Solomon shows strength against all odds and even when he turns to being a man of peace is forced to make choices that may damn him forever. You can feel the pure intensity Purefoy’s Solomon brings to the screen and for that we get a good measure of this relentless killing machine.
The cast includes the late Pete Postlethwaite (The Lost World: Jurassic Park) as the aging William Crowthorn who meets up with Solomon while taking his family to a new world, one that’s free from pestilence and tyranny. He makes his character God fearing and strong against adversaries reaching out to Solomon only when in desperate need. Rachel Hurd-Wood takes on the part of Meredith Crowthorn the sweet young daughter who gets kidnapped by henchmen of the evil sorcerer Malachi. She’s a frightened young woman and doesn’t stand a chance against the brutal warriors. Both actors are excellent in their portrayals and their characters are pivotal roles in the movie’s plot.
The Blu-ray disc has some very good bonus features that are worth a watch.
BONUS FEATURES:
“Audio Commentary” The commentary can be turned on in the bonus features section and I found it to be very good with director Michael Bassett going into detail about his production. He goes over the characters as they are introduced and makes sense out of some of the scenes that may have puzzled some viewers. James Purefoy also chimes in from time to time.
“Making of Solomon Kane” Here we get close-ups of the most formidable scenes including showing the rain turning to ice during a battle scene.
“Deleted Scene” Director Michael Bassett talks about why he cut the Cave battle scene from the film.
“Special FX: The Creation of the Fire Demon” Shows how they worked with Purefoy dangling from wires as they inserted with CGI the monstrous ‘Fire Demon’ that he fights. They also go into how they set a stunt man on fire that I think is astonishing.
“Interviews” Michael Bassett and James Purefoy are interviewed going over their part in bringing the film to the screen.
“Concept Art” Here we are treated to the drawings used to develop the characters from make-up to wardrobe.
The video quality of the film is exceptionally good played through my Blu-ray player on my 16×9 HD television. The dark and rainy scenes project beautiful on the screen with every character being seen with no distortion or grain. I found the special effects showing a burning Fire Demon, snowflakes, ashes, castles etc. all realistic and seamless. The landscapes are amazing and the chase scene in the woods very daunting. I found the hand to hand combat between Solomon and Malachi’s henchmen looking very real and the attention to detail striking.
The sound quality using the 5.1 DTSHD Master Audio is extremely good played through my sound system. I did however have to turn on the subtitles as the English accent from some of the characters was hard to understand at times and I wanted to make sure what they were saying. Subtitles are a plus for home viewers, that and being able to rewind and freeze frame.
The film has been rated R for violence throughout. A lot of heads and other body parts roll and many swords go slicing through bodies so be sure to view the film to see if your under 17-year-olds can see it with your permission.
Specifications and additional film information:
- Cast: James Purefoy, Pete Postlethwaite, Rachel Hurd-Wood and Max Von Sydow
- Directed by: Michael J. Bassett
- MPAA Rating: R for violence throughout
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Running Time: 1 hr 44 min
- Video Release Date: July 16, 2013
- Original Theatrical Release: September 28, 2012 Limited
- Language: English
- Format: Blu-ray
- Audio: 5.1 DTSHD Master Audio
- Video: 2.35:1 Aspect Ration 1080p Widescreen
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Number of Discs: 1 Disc
- Distributed by: Radius TWC
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
