Solomon Kane (film)



"If I kill you, I am bound for hell. It is a price I shall gladly pay."

- Solomon Kane

Released early 2010, the film is based loosely on Robert E. Howard's character of the same name. The film begins with Solomon Kane, an English mercenary, sacking a Spanish-occupied fortress in 17th-century North Africa. After easily dispatching any guards unfortunate enough to stand in his way. Solomon's men are set upon by demons and only Kane himself reaches the throne room. The treasure within is vast but much to his horror Solomon finds he is not alone.

Confronted by none other than the Devil's Reaper he is informed his soul is damned to hell and Satan has come to collect. Kane narrowly escapes, vowing to renounce his violent and sinful ways forever. Thus begins Kane's path to redeeming his wicked deeds and the lesson that "redemption is not always found through peace."

Inevitably his quest to avoid confrontation is hampered at every turn and sure enough this reformed-sinner-turned-Puritan must now put his violent skills to good use once again. Otherwise the audience might actually be forced to watch a man live out a peaceful life in a monastery. And no-one wants that in an action movie.

The film itself is unashamedly over-the-top with some gritty realism thrown inbetween the demons and witches being slain. Its dark atmosphere and James Purefoy's lead performance have gotten a decent amount of praise, while on the other hand the straight forward plot and out-of-place finale have been seen as a weakness.

Well worth taking a look at the original inspiration, Solomon Kane, along with his creator, author Robert E. Howard.

This film contains examples of:
"Malachi: Why do you care for her? You came here to save your soul.
 * Always Save the Girl: Solomon sees Meredith as the key to his salvation.

Solomon: She is my soul"

"Solomon If I kill you, I am bound for hell. It is a price I shall gladly pay."
 * Anachronism Stew: Okay, sure, it's hardly meant as a real historical film, but still, a puritan praying before a decorated crucifix just isn't right.
 * And Your Little Dog, Too: The protagonist has been foolishly refusing the call up to this point, so it's time for the villains to.
 * Anti-Hero (Type II): Solomon Kane.
 * Attempted Rape: Marcus is confronted by Solomon before he can take things further.
 * A Wizard Did It: As no amount of herbal medical techniques, the movie pretty much handwaves the miracle of  . Then again, they did Hand Wave it, which is more than most film do...
 * To be fair the nails were the same size all the way through, no flat top. It would be painful to remove but not impossible. However the healing is still impossible.
 * Badass: Solomon. Complete with Badass Longcoat.
 * Badass Boast: The moment Kane lets the enemy mooks know the gloves are finally off.

"Solomon: I was never more at home than I was at battle."
 * Beyond the Impossible:
 * Kane somehow manages to
 * Afterwards he
 * Big Bad: Malachi.
 * Blood Knight: When talking of the hardships of war Solomon confesses this to William Crowthorn.


 * Bullying a Dragon: A group of thugs harrass and taunt Solomon, who is doing his damn best to never kill again. One is smart enough to notice he's "got murder in his eyes" and has likely killed before. But they still beat him down for fun. They meet again. He isn't forgiving.
 * Burn the Witch: Inverted
 * The Call Knows Where You Live: Despite his best efforts to become a man of peace, the call plagues him until Solomon finally answers. The call.
 * Came Back Wrong:
 * Children Are Innocent: Subverted.
 * Christianity Is Catholic: Zig-zagged. Catholicism should have been well stamped out in southern England by the time Solomon Kane is set, but the film still shows Kane living in a monastery and kneeling infront of an ornate crucifix. Both Kane and the Crowthorns are Puritans, but this fact recieves very little screentime.
 * Damsel in Distress: Meredith Crowthorn.
 * Darkest Hour: . He recovers though when.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Solomon of course.
 * Deal with the Devil: Malachi's power is literally a result of dealing with Satan. And then
 * Did Not Do the Research: At the time in which the film is set, Meredith was a male name.
 * Determinator: Solomon displays this trait on several occasions, even during his darkest hour..
 * The Dragon: The Masked Rider is this to Malachi.
 * Dual-Wielding: Be it dual swords, a pair of muskets, or one of each, Kane is fond of a weapon in each hand.
 * Eating the Eye Candy: Meredith not-very-subtly hides behind a tree in order to check out Solomon when he's bathing in the river.
 * Evil Feels Good: The bandits who decided to join Malachi. "It is good!"
 * Evil Plan: Malachi informs Solomon that.
 * Evil Sorcerer: Malachi
 * The Faceless: The Masked Rider. Until The Reveal that is.
 * Failed a Spot Check: Happens to Solomon multiple times throughout the film. Makes you wonder how he survived as a soldier all those years. Good thing we have Mook Chivalry to compensate...
 * Fate Worse Than Death: Any one "infected" with the evil of Malachi is pretty much a slave to his will and eventually they become demons.
 * Flaming Sword: The weapon of choice for the Devil's Reaper. And a BFS at that.
 * Flash Back: Several major moments in Solomon's youth are explored through flashbacks.
 * Grim Reaper: The Devil's Reaper. Complete with fiery sword.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: We have Rome's Mark Antony trying to save Wendy to redeem his soul.
 * Hijacked by Jesus: The original novels were about a Puritan Christian struggling to understand a world where creatures and forces of various non-Christian belief-systems roam freely, yet the Christian God makes no overt signs of His existence, whereas the movie is all about the struggle between the Judeo-Christian God and Satan via human proxies.
 * Holding Out for a Hero: The local fighters don't fight back until Kane leads them. On a larger scale, what the hell are the armies of Queen Elizabeth the First doing while half of the West Country is burning to the ground?
 * There wasn't so much of an army per se in the early 1600s... but there would have been badly trained (and drunk) local militias available for hire. If you want an army, you'd have to wait about another 40 years.
 * Never-the-less Elizabeth I would surely have done something and since her mother was reputedly a witch.....
 * Human Notepad: Solomon is covered in religiously-themed tattoos and scars, apparently intended to ward off evil. And we get to see quite a lot of them.
 * Malachi also has neatly scrolled text written across one side of his face.
 * I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: Played straight and subverted..
 * Ironically if  things might have turned out for the better.
 * "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Subverted..
 * Infant Immortality: Cruelly averted.
 * I Will Fight No More Forever: Solomon vows off violence forever. It doesn't last.
 * I Will Find You: Meredith will be rescued if it's the last thing he does.
 * Jerkass: Marcus Kane comes across as a bully toward young Solomon. Solomon himself is very much one during the intro.
 * Knight Errant: Solomon Kane is this trope..
 * Large Ham: Jason Flemyng's turn as Malachi.
 * Made of Iron: Solomon: in the final fight.
 * Man Behind the Man: Malachi serves the Devil.
 * Men Are the Expendable Gender: Played very straight when.
 * Nice Hat: Solomon's Puritan hat, naturally, given the source material.
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: Essentially Solomon's Modus operandi.
 * Prisoner of Zenda Exit: Kane escapes from the Devil's Reaper by diving through a stained glass window into the ocean below.
 * Reality Is Unrealistic: For those who have never heard Purefoy's native accent, the West Country voice can take getting used too.
 * Red Herring: The mark.
 * Satan
 * Self-Made Orphan: Unusual in that
 * Sequel Hook: The film is after all a blatant origin story. Apparently a trilogy is planned.
 * Sinister Minister: Father Michael..
 * Shoot the Dog:.
 * Something Completely Different: For some reason.
 * Super Window Jump: Kane escapes the Reaper by diving through an ornate stained glass window.
 * Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Well that's one  who should have spent more time ducking and less time taunting. Sword to the face...ouch.
 * Trailers Always Spoil: That  showed up yet and it's the final battle...
 * Villain Ball: It appears.
 * War Is Glorious: In the intro it's clear Solomon Kane really loves his work. That is until he meets a reaper.
 * War Is Hell: After recounting his own personal experience, William Crowthorn informs his son that the bloodshed of battle and taking another's life is far from glorious.
 * Wicked Witch: Pretty much your classic ugly hag, complete with cackling.
 * What Could Have Been: Christopher Lambert was offered the lead role at some stage.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: Solomon is pretty much cursed to a life of battle.
 * The Devil's Reaper informs Kane he is damned and it's pointless to fight it.