Outlander (2008) Reviews

• The Space Marine, the Vikings, and the Alien Space Dragon

  Playbahnosh2009-02-03

  I stumbled upon this move by accident, but being a sci-fi and fantasy nerd, I watched it, despite the fact that sci-fi movies nowadays tend to be rather poor. The story begins with Kainan (James Caviezel) crash landing his spaceship into a lake, in the middle of Viking-land, in 709 AD. With his co-pilot dead, and his ship in ruins, sunken to the bottom of the lake, he uses his only working piece of technology to teach himself the norsk language. (I laughed my head off, when the first word he utters in Earth language is the "F" word :D) Wandering around in a forest, he is found by Wulfric (Jack Huston) and brought back to his village. They think Kainen is responsible for brutally ransacking a nearby village, and when Kainen tells them he is hunting for a "dragon", he is labeled as a liar and enemy. When in fact, the "dragon" he is referring to, is a monster from another planet, now hunting the viking populace and fauna of the land. Soon, when the villagers start vanishing and turning up as mutilated corpses, the vikings realize that Kainen might be telling the truth after all... I gotta say, combining space marines and alien monsters with a fantasy Viking setting intrigued me to no end. Outlander is the living proof, that such a combination can result in a very good and entertaining 115 minutes. Although the story is a little shallow, lacking in huge plot-twists and deep character development, but it is enough to keep the attention between the awesomely gory fight scenes. The acting is good enough, with the Christian Bale look-alike Caviezel, and the great but short performance of Ron Perlman, it manages to be captivating. We see far more swordplay than pulse rifle shoot-outs, so the sci-fi part of the film is largely suppressed to make way for the epic battle between the vikings and the moorvens, but that's just how it must be in this movie. The fight scenes are nicely choreographed and acted, the special effects are more than awesome, and the whole is movie is just great. I'd like to point out, that the Moorven is most astonishing space monster I've ever seen. With the clever colored pulsing and the well thought-out anatomy of the beast, it manages to be best so far. It's not the best movie I've seen, but it's still great, and every sci-fi and fantasy fan should go see it.

• Berlin Fantasy Film Fest

  davidaq2008-08-19

  Caught a screening of this last night in Berlin. Cinema was completely packed, not a spare seat in the house, and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it. I thought the film was great, really cool genre pic that comes across as a nice mixture of Predator/Braveheart/Beowulf, all the while managing to feel quite original on its own. Nice cast, Nice Script, and everything is handled a hell of a lot more intelligently than what you'd expect from a movie which is essentially 'Giant Alien Vs Vikings'. Why this is only getting such a limited release is beyond me, I think it could actually do quite well if given the chance. Basically anyone who enjoys Sci-Fi Action/Adventure done well should be looking forward to checking this one out when and if they get the chance.

• B+ movie

  Kevin-422009-01-27

  I was very skeptical before watching this film. Even if it got John Hurt and Ron Perlman in it, I just couldn't believe the SciFi/Norse legend combination would work. My instinct told me that this was going to be another of those horrible B-movies with a stupid story, sub-average effects and mediocre acting at best. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. Not that it is a masterpiece. The background story could have been a tad bit more elaborate, the plot more original and the final outcome a little bit less predictable, but all in all one has to acknowledge the decent effort to make this movie convincing and suspenseful. The end result is a solid piece of entertainment, with ample effects, directing I'd call 'by the book', workmanlike acting and a few kicks and thrills along the way. So if you happen to like action movies and don't ask for too much depth in the story, this will provide you with a 120 minutes amusement worth the time.

• Very Entertaining Movie

  petsteph12008-12-15

  Like a previous reviewer I don't know why this had a limited release. It is MUCH more value for ticket money than a number of other recent offerings and its faults are minor compared to the good qualities. The story is basically a sci-fi plot but since the lead character's space ship crashes in the Iron Age, among Vikings, you can understand that most of the movie takes place with Viking themes and scenery. The basic plot is quite sound and for the first 40 minutes the movie is VERY gripping. It tends to go a little flat at the end of the middle act and the start of the third act but effects, gore and very tense action compensate for those not too engrossed in the intricacies of the story. A pity about that because it looked like the story had more to offer and was chopped up somewhat to fit in a bunch of set pieces. I realize this is now making the movie sound a little lame: it isn't Lord of the Rings, but it is definitely worth the price of the ticket. See it expecting to be entertained for about 95% of the time and you wont be disappointed.

• Beowulf from Outer Space

  beastwarsfan2009-01-27

  "Outlander" is a great surprise by director Howard McCain - honestly never heard of him before, but I'll be keeping an eye on his work from now on! The movie opens with a spaceship crashing down on Earth, Norway 700 AD. The only surviour from the crew, Kainan (James Caviezel), is soon captured by vikings, who blame him for the slaughter in a nearby village. The outworlder claims he is not responsible and he has come to these lands hunting for dragons. The vikings don't trust a word... until their own village is attacked by a mysterious creature - something that Kainan brought with him from outer space... Proving himself in battle Kainan gains the trust of the vikings and gets himself some trusty friends... and some interest from the King's daughter Freya (Sophia Myles). Together they have to face the alien beast Moorwen and find a way to destroy it. But Kainen is hunted not only by a monster, but by guilt and memories as well. He couldn't protect his beloved wife and son from the very same creature. The story is simple and yet gripping. The idea that a pack of vikings and a spaceman battle an alien beast was exciting enough to make me interested and willing to see the movie. I approached it with no great expectations and I found myself pleasantly surprised! The movie is in fact very entertaining and involving. Jim Caviezel is an excellent choice for a tragic hero haunted by his past - a true Beowulf from outer space. The rest of the cast does a good job as well. I loved Sophia Myles in "Tristan & Isolde" and I was pleased to watch her again, this time as a bold Viking princess. In the supporting cast we have John Hurt and Ron Perlman (they've collaborated before on the Hellboy movies). The Moorwen is designed by Patrick Tatopolous and if you're familiar with his work you can sense his style in it. I'd say there is some Godzilla-nuance to the Moorwen, but the luminous abilities of the creature were something new and exciting. The production design, the sets and the costumes were also very good, but what really impressed me were the flashback sequences of Kainan's life before falling down to Earth. The Moorwen planet war scene is truly great and the only thing I regret is that they were not longer - I can enjoy out-of-this-world landscapes anytime! The CGI was impressive. I would play the movie again just to watch them once more. The movie could use some faster pace at times and I find it slightly longer than it should have been, but by no means boring or trying. "Outlander" delivers an excellent sci-fi action-adventure - something we don't see too often these days!