I imagined this to be Lord of the Rings meets Merlin.
Set around 400 years where the belief was both God and the devil exists and the world is run by sorcery and magic. They burnt witches at the stake and believed that any wrong doing and their soul automatically belonged to the devil.
Which is the case with the formally murderous, nobleman and now clean living Soloman Kane who had lost his family inheritance with his refusal to join the church and thus rebelled royally. His elder brother inherits everything and Mr Kane becomes a thug. He is on the right side of the law and/or God until 1. He runs into a family who takes care of him after he is mugged and beaten and 2. A former army colleague begs him to help fight against the evil.
Lots of blood, corpses and severed limbs ensue whilst fighting with monstrous beings seemingly whose bodies are occupied by very bad souls indeed. He now has to renounce his ‘I’m with God now’ status and I note he doesn’t appear to be thanked once for saving umpteen lives and re-selling his soul back to the devil hardly seems worth the price.
Fans of Lord of the Rings and Merlin (which I am) will enjoy it but not if you just like the magical, romantic bits – you won’t be getting that – but it’s a gritty piece of fantasy escapism.
7½/10 Smile factor 8/10
All roads lead to cake 