These days there seems to be a superhero film coming out all the time. All over the world people are looking to get in on the superhero game and the latest from Shout Factory, Rendel: Dark Vengeance, the first superhero flick from Finland is looking to leave its mark. Could this cool looking dark hero stand out to be something fans want more of or will he be better left in the darkness?

​

Rendel: Dark Vengeance follows a man blinded by his desire for revenge and hatred, the masked vigilante Rendel who seeks revenber and fights against the criminal organization VALA. The look and feel of the box art and trailer promised a dark hero and while that is what the film delivered it is far from the film I had hoped for. The visual of Rendel himself is dark and menacing with a persona more like the Punisher than anything else in the best way possible. There are some great action moments, especially in the second half of the film when they really get down to business, but sadly there is a lot to get through that isn’t all that great.

​

The first half of the film that is setting everything up is often times kind of silly with some pretty lame dialogue. The villains are all clichéd and not all together menacing making the vengeance of Rendel less satisfying than it should have been. The majority of the film felt more like a TV series as opposed to an actual feature, but given it their first outing to bring something like this to the screen in Finland, I give them props for the effort. There are some good things here that will no doubt help it find its audience with the comic fans.

​

While it wasn’t exactly the film I had hoped for when Rendel is offering up the punishment it is fun to watch and with this more or less being his origin story I hope that we get another chance to see him in action, but with a better villain to face off with. This release not only includes the film it offers up subtitles or English audio as well as a featurette taking you behind bringing Finlands first superhero flick to life.

​

Decide for yourself and grab your copy of Rendel: Dark Vengeance available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Shout Factory.

​

For more information head over to www.shoutfactory.com