The film is one of those things that you immediately "feel" it is wrong. No known actors except old guys like Max von Sydow, who get a small role anyway, an almost unknown lead character and a lot of attitude, like the movie is taking itself really seriously. Most of this kind of movies end up as pretentious flops.

Solomon Kane, however, did not. It was a reasonable movie, given the low production values and the video game like story. The thing is, the people working on it obviously made an effort. Strangely enough, it seems this sort of effort is what lacks in many films these days, even high budget ones, so this lifts Solomon Kane quite a lot.

Unfortunately, the film was not great. It was, I feel, the best they could do under the circumstances, and I applaud that, though. Better than The Book of Eli, but still the same superheroy feeling.

As a massive fan of Robert E. Howard's fiction, I eagerly look forward to any film adaptations of his work. Some have been great (the original CONAN THE BARBARIAN),some have been goofy fun (CONAN THE DESTROYER) and others have been lamentable (I'm looking at you, KULL THE CONQUEROR). SOLOMON KANE looked to be something a bit different: a central anti-hero character that doesn't have the loyal fan base of Conan, and who only appeared in a handful of stories. When this British-made movie came out, I couldn't resist getting hold of it to find out what it was all about.

First, the Howard connection: it's scant, at best. Kane looks the part, but he's here given a back story and painted as a good character undergoing redemption, rather than the somewhat black-hearted character of the original stories. No matter; I'm keen on enjoying adaptations based on their own merits, rather than whether they stick to the source material or not.

Visually, this is an exemplary film. The canvas is dark and bleak, with cold, snowbound locales, crumbling ruins and sinister forests. It doesn't look much like 16th century England, but as a fantastic tableaux it works a treat. The monsters are varied: there are huge fire demons, a messenger from Satan, witches, zombies and sinister demon-possessed soldiers. Okay, so a few flourishes owe more than a nod to LORD OF THE RINGS, but for the most part the style in this film is refreshingly original.

I loved the fact that the script plays it straight. Too many recent fantasy films follow the XENA path of comedic fight scenes and jokey humour throughout (I'm thinking VAN HELSING). Director Michael J. Bassett plays it dead right, making this a real hat trick (I liked his previous two efforts, DEATHWATCH and WILDERNESS, a lot too ). The action scenes are well handled, with plenty of swordplay. The effects are exemplary and there are some outstandingly bleak moments, too.

Cast-wise, James Purefoy is delightful. As far as I know, it's his first stab at an iconic character like this, and I can't fault him. I loved his West Country accent, too. The supporting cast, including such players as Pete Postlethwaite, Max Von Sydow, Jason Flemyng and Mackenzie Crook are also fine. In all, I had a ball with this movie, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Let's hope a sequel materialises

In a time of witchcraft and sorcery when the world was plunging into darkness and chaos, no one stood against evil.

In 1600, in North Africa, Captain Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) is a murderer and greed man that invades a coastal city seeking its hidden treasure. However, his crew is killed by demons and Solomon is trapped in a room with the Devil's Reaper. The evil Solomon learns that the reaper is ready to collect his soul as part of an unknown deal, but he succeeds in escaping from the devil.

Solomon travels to England and finds a sanctuary in a monastery. He renounces violence and gives his fortune to the Church, but after one year, the leader of the monks tells him to leave the hideout. Solomon wanders on the road of a country ruled by the evil Malachi (Jason Flemyng) and plunged into violence and chaos. Sooner three thieves steal his few possessions and beat him up, but Salomon is rescued by a puritan family that is traveling to North America.

When Solomon is healed, the patron William Crowthorn (Pete Postlethwaite) invites him to join his family in their journey. Solomon befriends the Crowthorn family, specially the boy Samuel (Patrick Hurd- Wood) and his teenage sister Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood).

When the Crowthorn family is slaughtered by raiders of the evil Malachi (Jason Flemyng) lead by the cruel Overlord (Sam Roukin),the demons abduct Meredith. Salomon tells that his soul will be doomed to hell but swears to William that he will rescue his daughter from Malachi. However, William promises Solomon that he will find redemption if he succeeds in his quest and bring Meredith back to her mother.

A couple of months ago I saw the trailer of "Solomon Kane" and I have been anxiously waiting for the release of this film on DVD. This dark story of redemption shows a full of action adventure, supported by a great story, screenplay and performances associated to excellent special effects and soundtrack. Surprisingly, this film is underrated in IMDb, with only 6.2 User Rating.

There are interesting interviews with James Purefoy and Max von Sydow in the Extras. This is one of the last films of the British actor Pete Postlethwaite, who has recently died.

My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Solomon Kane - O Caçador de Demônios" ("Solomon Kane – The Demons Hunter")