I found myself pondering the movies for Conan the Barbarian, and Solomon Kane respectively.
This came about (Aside from 2 beers and a lot of whiksy) because I realize that, by and large I should in all sense have a passionate hatred for movies that made up an "Origin Story" for two characters never truly given such by their creator Mr. Robert E. Howard.
The more I thought about this the more I realized the reason for my lack of disdain. In today's entertainment culture, we fear cinema making an exploit of beloved characters for the sake of brand recognition and clout with an established fan base, because the people in charge arn't interested in the source material to begin with.
With these two movies, I feel that is absent. In fact I dare say it seems the directors, writers, producers, actors and so on, attempted to look at these characters and asked "How would you create such a titan among men?"
If you watch these films side by side you see the exact moment the character, either of the two, that we know and love, is truly immortalized as we know them.
Interesting that they take place at opposite ends of their respective films I might add.
In Conan, almost near the end, before the final confrontation, our barbarian states "For us, there is no spring. Only the Wind when it smells fresh, before the storm"
Near the beginning of Solomon Kane after a devastating scene of the murder of innocents, Solomon looks to the heavens and beseeches God asking "Is this, all I am to you? Then so be it."
Both these movies give our characters a moment, I believe, where they BECOME, the character we know them as.
Conan makes a statement that he is never going to know anything but the thrill of battle, a life lived on a razor's edge, whether pirate, thief, brigand, barbarian or even king, he will not know the peace of other men. In parallel, Solomon is forced to recognize he is a man of divine retribution. He is a man of no land no people or home but a sword destined to smite injustice and evil wherever he witnesses it.
I think the reason many people flock to, despite these films' obvious divergence from canon, such stories is they are a believable addition to the character's legend.
Conan and Solomon are not "Modern Mythology gods" in the way superheroes or such are concerned. They are Hyper Human. We do not envy their divine abilities and perfect character, we aspire to the length of their human emotion and action.
In that, I think both these films gave us a believable perspective into how such men are made.
Well put.
For the record, I have watched Conan the Barbarian so many times that I now put it on in the background when I’m tired and want to sleep. And yes, whiskey and beer are usually involved in the decision making process.
