Solomon Kane : DVD Review




Title: Solomon Kane
Stars: James Purefoy, Pete Postlethwaite, Max Von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood Director: Michael J. Bassett
Duration: 104 mins
Released: June 28, 2010
Formats: Blu-ray and DVD (reviewed on Blu-ray)

Solomon Kane (2009)Solomon Kane is a story of swords, sorcery, revenge and good triumphing over evil. Set in 16th century England, Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) is a goodly little lad sent packing by his nasty Dad, the King who wanted him to go into the Priesthood or something, while his older brother Lorded it about. Solomon accidentally kills his brother when he catches him attacking a girl and then, no doubt feeling well and truly disgraced, he sets off to find his fortune as a warrior. He spends many years as the Captain of a ship, fighting for the British against, well basically anyone that wants to fight. He’s good at it and he feels at home with killing and fighting. Until one of the Devil’s minions turns up and says his soul is damned. Kane dispatches of said minion and thinks not a lot more of it. But just in case, he swears to live a new life of peace.

Kane is doing pretty well as a man of peace, until an evil sorcerer, Malachi (Jason Flemyng), slaughters a family that he is travelling with, leaving only the mother and daughter alive, and taking the daughter prisoner. Kane realises that the only way to redeem himself is to save the young girl and vanquish Malachi.
In terms of plot it’s all a bit predictable to be honest but that doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining and as the pacing is fairly good, viewers shouldn’t become bored. The direction is solid and the acting is perfectly adequate. And that West Country accent of Purefoy’s, it’s genuine – he really does originate from Taunton in Somerset.

Watching Solomon Kane in blu-ray is quite a treat. Despite many scenes being filmed at night and in really heavy rain the visuals and audio are excellent. There is no evidence of grain at all – the image is sharp throughout and the colours are also very good.

There is a certain level of gory violence in the fighting scenes and there is a little bit of creepiness with regards a number of odd looking ‘ghouls’ and witches but there is no swearing at all which I thought was admirable, and also makes it more suitable for a wider audience – although I should point out that it is still quite rightly a 15 certificate.

Solomon Kane is an entertaining and enjoyable film and it looks and sounds great on blu-ray.

Author : Kevin Stanley