This is yet the most fascinating, favorable review yet, imo:
http://www.film.com/features/story/fantastic-fest-solomon-kane-perfect/30268111
Fantastic Fest: Solomon Kane Is the Perfect Reintroduction to a Classic Pulp Hero
A fantasy hero comes to life in this artful origin story.
"Solomon Kane" (2009) - Wandering Star Pictures
C. Robert Cargill,
Sep 29, 2009 Easily one of my favorite films playing at Fantastic Fest this year,
Solomon Kane perfectly fills the void left in the fantasy section of the programming. Unfortunately, in this day and age, fantasy is not as prominent as some would lead you to believe. Sure, we get a handful of releases a year -- mostly big budget studio adaptations of young adult fantasy fiction or summer tentpole (thus often dumbed down) releases -- but when it comes to more mature fare, fantasy fans are forced to turn to foreign language efforts. And on the festival circuit there isn't much in the way of solid fantasy floating around. Enter Solomon Kane, the classic fantasy character created by fantasy pioneer Robert E. Howard, a man best known as the creator of Conan the Barbarian.
Solomon Kane is a little known (throughout the mainstream, that is) fantasy hero whose adventures are set in colonial times. A religious pilgrim, Kane fights all manner of the devil's minions -- witches, demons, vampires, you name it. He sees himself as the weapon of God, the last line of defense of man against the beasts of the night. A brutal, pulpy hero, Kane has finally re-emerged from the dark dank world of bookstore fandom into the light of a major motion picture.
It stars
James Purefoy (who is fantastic in the role) as the title character, and the film's producers made the daring, and oft derided choice, of writing this as an origin story -- something Howard had never written. Combing through through the several dozen Solomon Kane stories in existence, writer/director
Michael J. Bassett culled several hints as to his beginnings and then forged an epic, fascinating story around those hints. While several core fans have complained that this isn't the Solomon Kane from the books, they've missed that by the end of the film he actually is -- and in the meantime, those unfamiliar with Howard's works find themselves properly introduced to the character, the time period, and the mythology of the universe. The new story, however, is spectacular and reminiscent of the same kind of dark, brooding, restrained character that audiences raved about in last year's
The Dark Knight.
Shot on a modest budget, Bassett creates the brutal, ruthless world of Kane mostly from practical effects, only using CG when creature design requires it. The result is a gritty, classic fantasy style that is rooted in mood and story rather than using huge special effects to move the film along. Further wringing blood from a stone, the film boasts veteran character actors
Pete Postlethwaite and
Max von Sydow in pivotal roles that lend the film the weight and genre cred it needs to take this into the realm of potentially classic fare. Unfortunately, Stephen Sommers plagiarized quite a bit of style and substance from Howard's character to create his own (incredibly lame)
Van Helsing, placing the Puritan monster hunter in the world of Universal's monster hitlist. As a result, many studios have frowned upon the character, fearful that
Van Helsing's bad reputation might follow and sink its lower budget, but far superior, genre sibling. Thus far it has yet to secure proper U.S. distribution -- despite being one of the best fantasy efforts in recent years.
Chock full of pathos, heart, and plenty of gut-wrenching action and horror, the film exists in two states: its current family-friendlier PG-13 version (which I saw) and a much more raw, hard-R/unrated version (which my buddy saw and raved about). Personally, I'm pulling for someone to pick up the former only to release the latter as a special edition on DVD. It's a perfectly executed trip into the world of a literary classic and something that will resonate with teens and adults alike. I absolutely adore this film and consider it one of the very best things I've seen so far out of the 40 some odd films I've watched this year at Fantastic Fest. I eagerly await my chance to see it again -- hopefully on the big screen where it belongs.
This gets a solid A.
I want to see this!!!!! 
