In the sword and sorcery genre, there are so many heroic characters that some of them end up being criminally underestimated. For example, everyone is familiar with Conan and his exploits, thanks to Robert E. Howard’s remarkable invention.
However, the same author created another character with great care, but he never achieved the level of popularity that he deserved. Yes, we are talking about Solomon Kane, the gloomy, lone warrior dressed in black!
This was a deftly written character, and readers enjoyed reading about his exploits as he embarked on an evil-fighting mission that took him throughout wide swaths of the globe, from Europe to Africa. Solomon Kane was more of an anti-hero or one who became one after a life of battling and killing for all the wrong reasons.
The film rights took a long time to get, and the live-action feature was only released in 2009. The picture dared to explore an original tale — one that was not penned by Howard – with a reasonable budget of roughly $40 million. The box office returns, on the other hand, were underwhelming, to say the least.
Despite a valiant effort, the film failed to captivate moviegoers, and this dark-themed ultra-violent drama was ultimately a one-off attempt to bring this renowned character to the big screen. We will go over the movie in detail in this video, and we will also look into some potential future projects starring Solomon Kane.
Solomon Kane – A Tale of Redemption in a world of chaos and darkness
In the opening sequence, we see Solomon Kane leading his ships and crew into battle against the Ottoman occupiers. The time is somewhere around the 16th century and the first sight of Solomon Kane tells you that he means business. We see him cutting down hordes of enemy fighters, and eventually, he guides his men to the throne room.
There is something off-putting about this place and one of his comrades gets the jitters. However, Kane is not one to be bothered by anything and he ends up in the middle of the throne room with his men.
All of a sudden, demonic apparitions conjure out of nowhere and take away a few of the men. Kane is unperturbed and goes into the inner sanctum – a room that is filled with gold and other riches. The door closes behind him all of a sudden and he hears the dying screams of his men outside. Inside the room, a powerful demon appears who calls himself the Devil’s Reaper.
He reveals that Kane’s life of sins has ensured that his soul is damned and promised to Satan. Just as he is about to strike him down, Kane jumps out of a window. We hear the last words of the demon as he says that he will hunt Kane down.
The plot moves ahead a few years into the future. Kane was disturbed by the events of that night, and he decided to renounce his life of violence. He sought shelter in a peaceful Church after donating all his wealth.
But his stay is cut short because the abbot asks him to leave. He believes that Kane’s road to redemption can be possible through his journey and a clueless Solomon Kane wanders out into the wilderness. Along the road in the middle of nowhere, a family offers him a ride in their caravan, but he respectfully refuses.
They warn him that it is not safe to travel through the region alone, but Kane decides to continue on foot. However, they were right, and Kane is attacked by three robbers. He reveals his unwillingness to fight but his philosophies of pacifism fall on deaf ears. The robbers knock him unconscious after finding nothing worth taking and leave him for dead.
Kane wakes up and finds himself being cared for by the Crowthorne family. This is a family of Puritans, and the young daughter Meredith does her best to nurse Kane back to his health. He continues his journey with the family, the parents, and their three children.
Kane admits to his past life of violence and sins, but the family seems to be forgiving and kind. In fact, it allows Kane an opportunity to call out to his humane side! But his peaceful life is cut short after they come across a burned village.
An evil witch marks Meredith, and soon, they are attacked by the forces of Malachi, an evil sorcerer. His masked commander is absolutely ruthless and kills Meredith’s father and brothers before taking her prisoner. Kane watches helplessly as they take off with Meredith, but her dying father makes him promise that he will get Meredith back to safety.
Kane abandons his vows of non-violence and sets off to rescue Meredith from her captors. Along his journey he comes across an abandoned Church and a deranged priest. The priest tells him all about Malachi, and how he has taken over the entire land. He transforms the weaker ones into slaves and the stronger prisoners into his soldiers.
There is no escape from the clutches of this mind-controlling wizard, and his forces are expanding continuously. The priest tries to feed Kane to a group of people transformed into ghouls, but Kane manages to break free. He is soon greeted by the same robbers who attacked him earlier, but this time he slaughters them in a matter of seconds! How’s that for Karma!
But he also learns from one of the robbers that Meredith is dead, and this makes him believe that his one chance at redemption has failed. He resigns to a local inn and drinks to drown his hopelessness. One of his former shipmates recognizes him at the inn, and he offers him to lead them as a resistance force against Malachi.
Kane refuses because he sees no purpose in life, but the next morning they are ambushed by the masked commander and his men. Kane is crucified alongside some of the leaders of the resistance, and just as he is about to give up, he watches Meredith being taken away in a caged van.
This gives him a newfound strength and he breaks free and fights Malachi’s men. He is joined by his old comrade and a few others, and they decide to raid the castle where Malachi resides. Solomon Kane finds out that it is the same castle, where he grew up.
He was the second-born child and his father wanted to give him away to the Church. Kane refused the orders and left the palace, only to return shortly and face his evil elder brother. The brother tried to fight him, but an accidental push made him fall several hundred feet into the rocks.
Kane knows the castle like the back of his hands, and they find their way in through a hidden passage. They head into the dungeons and free many captives, including Kane’s father who reveals that the masked commander is his own elder brother.
It was Kane’s father who had summoned the sorcerer to heal his son, and he turned out to be an evil man who took control of everything. It all boils down to a final showdown between Malachi and Kane in the throne room of the castle after Kane frees Meredith.
The evil sorcerer sends Kane’s brother against him, but Kane manages to finish him off after an intense duel. Eventually, Kane shoots Malachi dead, and they both jump through a portal created to take away his soul. Meredith mourns the death of Kane when he suddenly awakens. It turns out that through his good deeds he has finally redeemed his soul and from now onwards, he would roam the Earth fighting all forms of evil!
Our take on this underrated gem
Solomon Kane might not have the same level of a loyal fan base as Conan, but we are impressed by the character. The film happens to be a charming adaptation that retains the true essence of Solomon Kane while creating its own storyline.
In fact, as avid readers of Robert E. Howard’s work, we were pleasantly surprised that the director, M.J. Bassett could create such an exemplary narrative. Award-winning fantasy author Ramsey Campbell worked on the screenplay, and he did not disappoint. According to the movie narrative, Solomon Kane is a transformed character undergoing redemption and it is somewhat different from the cold-hearted character seen in the books.
However, the director was clever enough to retain the dark ambiance and add to it. The visuals are stunning and haunting at the same time. You have vast stretches of snowbound land, crumbling ruins, and the overall color palette is kept on the dark and gloomy side.
The special effects are one of the strong assets of this movie because from Devil’s reaper to the demon-possessed soldiers, everything looks quite real. The script never strays from the serious undertone and you will not be disturbed by unnecessary comedic moments at any point.
The characters are drawn out pretty well and you will find yourself establishing an emotional connection with the likes of Meredith, her family, and their bonding with Solomon Kane. As for the cast, James Purefoy is delightful as the protagonist.
Everything from his accent to his mannerisms brings out the character from the pages onto the screen and that is a feat in itself. He gets to deliver some kickass dialogues and that makes the character even cooler.
The makers never compromise on the element of violence and right from the opening sequence till the very end, you will enjoy some compelling sword fights. The overall plot might be predictable, but there are still some unexpected twists along the way. Our final verdict is that Solomon Kane is a well-compiled action drama that is a must-watch for the sword and sorcery fans. It is a pity that the movie could not spawn sequels because it certainly deserved to!
Why is Solomon Kane one of the most Underrated Sword And Sorcery Movies Of All Time?
Was the movie flawless? Absolutely not! It did have its ridiculous moments and absurdities, but you don’t really expect sword and sorcery films to be physics documentaries, do you! So why did the film fail so badly?
One of the main reasons is that the promotional events were minimal and there was far too little hype created by the makers. Besides, the movie was released in the US four years after the UK release, and by then most people who were interested in watching the film had already watched it!
We keep saying that Solomon Kane is right up there with the likes of Conan the Barbarian, but such comparisons did not help its cause. It lacked the star power of someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many fans had given up on the movie even before checking it out! The makers are also to be blamed for some flaws in the execution.
It does not help that the main villain Malachi is seen only for the final ten minutes of the film. Solomon Kane’s individual episodes of heroics are far more charming than the overall mission. But these don’t make it a failed attempt by any means. In fact, the movie does well to preserve its heritage even at the cost of losing some popularity points. This unsung hero deserved much better, and it is a shame that the movie ended up at the box office the way it did!
When is Solomon Kane 2 Releasing?
Solomon Kane was initially envisioned to be the first of a trilogy. So, many of you might be wondering what happened to the sequels. Unfortunately, due to the box office failure, no follow-up movies were made. There have been comic books, role-playing games, and even new audio stories featuring the hero, but the 2009 Solomon Kane is the only movie ever made on this character. However, we do see a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair.
There are some new reports that suggest that a Solomon Kane TV series is being developed. It has been revealed that producer Frederik Malmberg is in charge of the project and the stories would skip the origin and jump straight to his adventures in Africa. It is believed that the episodes would be similar in nature to the Sherlock series that featured Benedict Cumberbatch.
We would have ninety-minute episodes, and that is just about the perfect time to put forth one of his adventures. The casting better be perfect because we certainly want the perfect guy to play Solomon Kane! But let’s not build castles in thin air! We have seen such things happen time and again and then get canceled before you know it. If it does turn out to be a reality, the show might fare much better than the movie did back in the day!