While the film itself (written by Michael J. Bassett) does not follow any of Howard's Solomon Kane story lines (no surprise there), this film is my favorite REH adaptation. Honestly, this is not admitting too much since I am one REH fan who is disgruntled about the fact that the film makers have, once again, completely disregarded the contents of the REH stories. It's as if they think that Howard's stories are not well suited for film. Perhaps they're right? Oh hell, who am I kidding, of course Howard's stories are well suited for film. His narratives and plots are well written enough to transfer to film. Apparently filmmakers think his characters are interesting enough to come alive on the silver screen. So why don't they keep Howard's story lines in tact as well? Who knows?
Regardless, there is one thing I appreciate about this upcoming film, and that's the fact that many viewers who had no idea Howard wrote any other stories besides Conan the Barbarian (correctly, the Cimmerian), will now be introduced to another one of his characters. This is a bitter sweetness since the film only manages to mildly demonstrate the "spirit" of the character and not the actual character I love so much from Howard's stories. Once again, my 'willing suspension of disbelief' will be stretched and tested (in relation to REH's actual Solomon Kane stories) when I go see the film, but I'm sure I'll manage to keep the original character in tact. I at least hope it is successful enough to warrant subsequent directors, who may have a stronger vested interest in making new REH characters come to life on the big screen, create new films that will eventually live up to the original works of Howard.
Below is the trailer for the U.S. release of Solomon Kane. I'm curious to see what the response will be to the film here in the U.S..
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