Home Video: 'Solace'

Solace (out now on Blu-ray plus Digital HD, DVD and Digital HD) is a mystery thriller with an A-list cast featuring Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Made a few years back, the movie sat on the shelf after its studio went into bankruptcy. Solace finally got a release after a couple of breakthrough TV roles: Morgan as super-villain Negan on The Walking Dead and Hopkins as the mysterious Dr. Robert Ford on HBO's Westworld.

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Morgan plays freewheeling FBI Special Agent Joe Merriwether, who brings retired physician Dr. John Clancy (Hopkins) onto a serial killer case as a consultant. A psychic consultant, a move that irritates his FBI partner Katherine Cowles (Abbie Cornish). Clancy can see the future and quickly realizes that their serial killer Charles Ambrose (Farrell)  is an even more gifted psychic than he is.

Hopkins' performance echoes Hannibal Lecter in some ways, minus the campy flesh-eating bits. He's very good with Farrell in their few scenes together. Hopkins can see where all of this is going (psychically) and has to figure out a way to prevent Cowles' death.

Director Afonso Poyart employs a lot of mind-bending CG trickery to spice up the movie and to cover up the fact that it was shot on a limited budget. The movie was shot in Atlanta back before movie production designers decided they needed to cover up the fact that they were yet again shooting in Georgia, so the overall look is kind of tired.

Still, it's better than a lot of the reviews out there and it makes sense that the script was once under consideration as the basis for a possible sequel to Se7en. If it's 10pm and you're standing in front of the Redbox without a clue, you could do a lot worse than this Solace.