By Ng Yang Han

If there was ever a list of 10 most badass medieval heroes, Solomon Kane would definitely rank somewhere on top.

Adapted from the comic book character Solomon Kane, the film is a tale detailing the origins of evil-vanquishing badass.

The titular anti-hero of the historical-fantasy film, Solomon Kane’s (James Purefoy) story begins during one of his conquests in 17th century North Africa, where the Devil’s Reaper (Ian Whyte) comes for his soul after a lifetime of evil deeds. Solomon (I’ll just call him Solomon to avoid confusion with the title) turns over a new leaf and renounces violence in a bid to save his soul and seeks refuge at a monastery.

The abbot, amidst fears that Solomon’s past will put them all in danger, soon kicks him out of the Church. Kane eventually joins up with a family named Crowthorn, including father William (Pete Postlethwaite) and daughter Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood).

Meanwhile, human raiders under the control of a sorcerer named Malachi are raiding villages and taking slaves. When raiders capture Meredith, Solomon promises her father to rescue her at any cost, and embraces violence onces again.

Humanity’s hope lies on Solomon’s (Solomon ironically means “peace” in Hebrew) broad shoulders to stop Malachi.

This time, violence is absolutely necessary for good old revenge.

Yes, Solomon Kane is largely about ass-kicking in its purest and most unadulterated form. No complicated sub-plots and drawn out filler dialogue sequences between the entertaining fight scenes – which I might add, are aplenty.

There are a couple of fairly predictable scenes, and the revenge plot is a simple one, but they do little to derail this slugfest driven by the slightly unrealistic invincibility of Kane, who in one scene even appears to be enjoying himself going on a rampage against zombie-like creatures à la Left 4 Dead.

Purefoy fits quite comfortably into his leading man role in the latest of medieval/epic/action productions (Rome, A Knight’s Tale etc) on his portfolio. If there are any bugbears, it would have to be a lack of character development for the other characters other than Solomon, who manages to shine. A supposedly touching scene when Kane is finally reunited with his father after so many years is undone by the lack of character development.

The special effects are also excellent for the US$40 million dollar (SGD$51 million) film. The demons and ghouls look decent enough, although a little video-gamey at times.

Solomon Kane manages to entertain with an action-packed and easy-to-follow storyline, but audiences who’re looking for the next Lord of the Rings will have to pass on this enjoyable monster romp.

Movie: Solomon Kane
Rating: 3/5 stars

Opens: Jan 20
Duration: 104 minutes
Language: English
Age Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Director: Michael J. Bassett
Cast: James Purefoy, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Max von Sydow, Pete Postlethwaite