I just realized that I have not posted anything here for some weeks. I couldn't help it. First, it was the Lunar New Year and I was away in another town where the "internet" was a totally alien, unheard of thing. Next, I found myself buried under endless studies - my examinations are coming up in 2 months time. Then, I was back at work and had lots of things to look into both at work and at home. I finally had some time to catch my breath today - also went for a matinee show with my dad. We saw "Solomon Kane" together. I've really been longing to see this film since first hearing about it last year. In fact, to get myself into the sword-and-sorcery mode, I went out yesterday and picked up the new Dark Horse "Chronicles" series of paperbacks reprinting old Solomon Kane and Kull The Conqueror comics as well as the Del Rey collection of original Robert E. Howard "Kull: Exile of Atlantis" stories.
I was first introduced to the sword-wielding, demon-slaying Puritan when I was a wee lad of 9 or 10 years of age. At that time, I attended tuition classes with my friends in a nearby teacher's house. As was our habit, we usually arrived at his house about an hour before the classes commence. You see, that teacher had a huge collection of old Marvel comics - Master of Kung Fu, Dr. Strange, Savage Sword of Conan, Avengers and my personal favourite, The Sword of Solomon Kane. My friends mainly ogled over the pictures of scantily-clad maidens in the old b&w Conan tales while I, the more cerebral one among them, took my pleasures from the moody and meditative stories featuring the Puritan Solomon Kane. Ok, ok, I admit - I did my fair share of ogling as well! Blame it on our curiosity about how girls looked (read: our total lack of luck with the opposite sex, being the unattractive geeks that we were!). Anyway, there I was, flipping through copies of these comics featuring a character that looked nothing like the "long-underwear" superheroes that I was so used to seeing in the funnybooks. He looked like someone from the 16th century and wielded a sword to kill werewolves. I had no idea what a Puritan was at that time but the word sounded cool to me. Years later, Nathaniel Hawthorne shattered whatever illusions I had about noble Puritans but that is another story altogether. At that time, I saw something different and to my 10-year-old brain, something altogether cool! Those were magic times, growing up in the 1980s with Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Conan", Harrison Ford as "Indiana Jones" and stupid sword-and-sorcery movies like "The Sword And The Sorcerer"! I rewatched that last one not too long ago and was so embarassed by it. Before slipping in the VCD into the player, I told my wife and kids how "cool" that movie was - "the hero has this sword that can shoot itself unto the monster" - but after watching it, I wanted to hide myself in a hole somewhere and never come out again!
Upon entering the cinema just now, I felt the same trepidation. Here I was, trying to get my dad to watch an actual film based on something I treasured from my childhood. Would it turn out to be another "The Sword And The Sorceror" experience? Was the "magic" of the Solomon Kane stories somewhat coloured by my addled 10-year-old brain? I mean, we live in the post-Matrix, post-LOTR, post-Avatar world, right? In other words, will my childhood fantasies still hold up after all these years? I was a huge Transformers fan growing up but the Michael Bay movies did nothing for me - more than anything, they revealed to me just how shallow and empty the entire Transformers franchise was.
I am glad to say that the "Solomon Kane" movie was a great experience. The fact that it is largely unknown around these parts made it extra special for me. I could swear that I was the only Robert Howard fan in the cinema and fully understood the literary creations of the tragic Texan writer. The fact that the film was made by unknowns and featured virtually no-name actors (who the heck is James Purefoy?) made it even better. It felt like a gift from fellow fans to other fans. The guy next to me was dozing off after 15 minutes. My dad was glued to the screen and so was I. We were discussing Puritan history one moment and talking about demonology the next. Some parts of the film are, admittedly, slow and a little draggy but I did not care. I mean, it's effin' SOLOMON KANE on the silver screen! What more can a fan ask for? Aside from the generally good performances by the leads, the scenery and music are absolutely beautiful throughout. In fact, they all added to the epic feel of the film, making it stand up high in this day and age. In other words, go watch it if you're a fan of classic adventure stories. As for me, I'm heading back to reread the original stories and comics... :)
