SOLOMON KANE – The Blu Review

Robert E. Howard was a popular fantasy fiction author back in the 20s and 30s. His most popular character, Conan the Barbarian has muscled his way onto the big screen three times so far and has starred in a long-running comic book series. Now his next most famous creation, Solomon Kane, has been filmed and the result, SOLOMON KANE is a mixed bag.

Starting in 1600 Solomon Kane (played James Purefoy), is a ruthless English soldier/mercenary who lives a life of bloodshed and violence. But after raiding a North Africa city Satan and his servants declare that they want to possess Solomon’s soul. Solomon escapes and attempts to live a peaceful live in a monastery and renounces violence, but a new evil has raised its ugly head in England. A strange demonic person named Malachi (Jason Flemyng) has created an army and is forcing the weak into slavery. When a family that Solomon was with is murdered and their daughter Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is captured, Solomon sets out to rescue her and stop this new force.

Solomon Kane is basically a B-Movie with a modest budget ($40 Million) but there is nothing wrong with that because B-Movies can be fun. There are good moments in the film, in the beginning there’s an atmospheric horror scene with creatures in mirrors jumping out and attacking the soldiers and there is an extremely well done fight scene in a snowy forest which reminded me of a similar scene in GLADIATOR. This is the kind of the stuff you want to see in a film like this and CGI and blood-letting are impressive. The story itself is all over the place, starring out as something epic, Solomon Kane versus Satan, to a story about Solomon wanting to find peace, to one about an evil force taking over much of England and Solomon stopping them and saving this girl he hardly knows. I would to have like to have seen Solomon battle Satan’s forces more or seen how he would have used his skills for good instead of personal greed. Purefoy is most famous for playing Marc Anthony in Rome and he was seen as a potential action star: he was cast to play V in V FOR VENDETTA but actually walked out during filming and was once seen as a potential James Bond, so playing Solomon is a good way to practice for bigger roles. He does a decent enough job and Max von Sydow and the late Pete Postlethwaite as always offer their best. Michael J. Bassett isa  typical nuts and bolts action director who moves the film quickly along. There is a strange trend in recent years for historical films with a fantasy or supernatural edge, starting with the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, becoming adult with 300 and continuing with films like JONAH HEX, SEASON OF THE WITCH, and this. SOLOMON KANE is better than those two films but it never did play theatrically (at least not here in St. Louis). Now it’s been released on Blu-ray from Starz/Anchor Bay

SOLOMON KANE appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. At all times, the presentation looked solid. I certainly failed to detect any problems with sharpness. The movie featured excellent delineation and clarity at all times, with virtually no softness on display. Jagged edges and shimmering created no concerns, and edge enhancement appeared to be absent. I also didn’t see any signs of source flaws. SOLOMON KANE featured a fairly stylized palette. Few dynamic hues popped up, as the flick preferred a variety of gray, brown and earthy green tones. These looked fine within the movie’s visual choices. Blacks were dark and tight, while shadows seemed full and clear. I found no reason to complain about this strong image.

I felt the same way about the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio of SOLOMON KANE. The soundfield helped create an immersive setting. Atmospherics ruled the day, as the natural environment seemed engaging and involving. In addition, the many action sequences managed to provide accurately placed elements that moved smoothly across the speakers. The various pieces combined to form a fine soundscape.

Extras:
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Michael J. Bassett and Actor James Purefoy. The pair talk throughout with little downtime, and their recollection is very interesting and informative. They offer a perfectly decent track here – no more, no less. They cover an appropriate array of subjects and does so with reasonable gusto and detail in a running, screen-specific look at story and character topics, cast and performances, sets and locations, makeup and effects, action and stunts, music, and a few other elements.

• The Making of Solomon Kane runs 12 minutes and takes a look at the characters, the plot, costume and makeup, special effects creation, and building a believable Solomon Kane in both look and action choreography.

• Deleted Scene runs 2 ½ minutes. Introduced by Bassett, it’s a fight in a cave that I’m not sure why was cut

• Special FX: The Creation of the Fire Demon is a 2-minute look at the creation of the film’s biggest villain.

• Interview with Writer/Director Michael J. Bassett runs 9 minutes and has Bassett repeating much of what he covers in the commentary.

• Interview with James Purefoy runs 9 minutes and has the actor discussing why he was drawn to this project and the challenges of shooting such an FX-heacy film. Purefoy apparently thought this was to be the first in a trilogy.

• Original Concept Art runs 2 minutes and is a series of images set to music.