Solomon Kane 2009

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Mr. Basset is too enamored of the usual action film cliches ... But he has a graphic visual style that suits the simplistic material and he keeps you watching even as the wet, sucking sounds of skewered flesh grows tedious. Read more

Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: It's hardly original (and Max von Sydow is wasted in brief scenes as Kane's father), but "Solomon Kane" is worthy of big-screen appreciation. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: The results suggest a compelling movie could be made from the material, even if it isn't this one. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: [It] does have its moments and gets better as it goes along. Read more

Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: Who knew there were skinhead and zombie equivalents in late-Elizabethan England? Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: "Solomon Kane" succeeds by embracing its identity as a straightforward genre exercise, complete with bone-crunching and blood-spurting action. By not aiming for more, it hits its target. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Few characters have much to do but grunt and scream and bleed. Read more

Scott Tobias, NPR: It grinds along on the dubious strengths of its generic battle sequences and midbudget special effects, whipped up around a stone-faced hero who's part Christ figure, part embodiment of wickedness, all crippling bore. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Been there, done that. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: A monstrously entertaining action-adventure... the film's epic vision bears comparison with the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, its imaginative supernatural elements confidently fused with a savage reality. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: A borrowed melange of Lord of the Rings pomp, weightless CGI sorcery, artfully smudged cheekbones and exceedingly dull sword slicings. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: This muscular yet monotonous Kane just isn't much fun. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: It is, for a contemporary CGI-fraught fantasy-slash-living-video-game, not at all bad, dotted with moments of Bosch and steady on its storytelling feet. Read more