Solomon Kane - DVD

Film: Fans are familiar with Robert E. Howard (1906 - 1936) not only as the creator of "Conan the Barbarian". The novel character "Solomon Kane" also sprang from his mind. The books, which can be classified in the genre of so-called pulp fiction, have given Solomon Kane a solid fan base, which has been expanded by the comic book adaptations in the 1970s and 1980s. Director Michael J. Bassett has "Solomon Kane" now delivered the first film adaptation of Howard's novel character on a hefty budget of nearly $45 million. The result has now been released as a DVD and Blu-Ray premiere in Germany.

At the center of the action is Solomon Kane (James Purefoy), feared soldier of Elizabeth I, who kills and plunders conscienceless - until one day an emissary of the devil incarnate confronts him and claims Kane's soul. But the warrior manages to escape. He knows that he can only save his soul if he makes peace with God and henceforth lives in peace and absolute non-violence. He succeeds very well for some time - until a dark force rises and challenges Kane until he can no longer help but break his oath...

"Solomon Kane" has some very positive aspects on the credit side. Especially visually the film can convince. Most comparable in visuals to the unfortunately terribly disappointing "Van Helsing", "Solomon Kane" also matches the gloom of its visuals in terms of content. The set and effects are equally successful, as is the fine camerawork. Amidst these successful elements, James Purefoy, known from "Resident Evil" and the TV series "Rom", acts confidently and just as well as the script allows.

Where the film doesn't do quite as well is with its pacing. There are quite a few very fast-paced and also quite exciting sequences, but they are repeatedly interrupted by quiet moments that are far too long. Far too often Kane has to argue with himself whether he should break his oath or not. Far too often he walks around with a meaningful look on his face, without anything really happening. Now, since the script doesn't really come up with great dialogue or use the quieter moments to give the characters more depth, there could have been some cuts here and a bit more action instead.

No question, in the moments when "Solomon Kane" works, it works really well. With a little more pacing and a slightly more clever script, this fantasy adventure could have been a real genre smash. Thus, the film merely offers good entertainment in atmospheric visuals - definitely enough for an entertaining DVD evening.

Picture + Sound: Since the final product was not yet available for testing, no rating can be given here about the technical implementation. However, the data-reduced press DVD has already left a good impression.

Extras: The extras were also missing on the press DVD. Announced are two short featurettes, just under 35 minutes of interviews, cast info, the trailer and a 15-minute look behind the scenes.

Conclusion: "Solomon Kane" works really well in places and is then from the tone exactly the film that "Van Helsing" should have been. Despite some lengths a film adaptation of the popular novel series worth seeing, which can convince especially on a visual level. An exciting fantasy film that guarantees an entertaining DVD evening

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp