Review of Outland (1981) by Apostolos M — 05 Nov 2012

An often forgotten yet undeniably well-crafted film, "Outland" is easily one of the strongest science fiction entrees to capitalize on the post-"Star Wars" wake. The screenplay by writer/director Peter Hyams is as consistently thrilling as it is surprisingly witty.

This is only strengthened by commendable leading performances from Sean Connery as Marshal William O'Niel and Frances Sternhagen as Dr. Lazarus, who make an intelligent, yet refreshingly platonic on-screen duo.

They're joined by the always delightful Peter Boyle as corporate sleaze Mark Sheppard, who plays the part up and beyond the simple caricature one might expect. The editing by Stuart Baird and score by Jerry Goldsmith also deserve special praise, as every action sequence here is expertly tightened by Baird's swift cutting hand and wholly accentuated by Goldsmith's bombastic, atonal blasts.

Though the film's detractors will be quick to note plot similarities in the film's third act to the classic western "High Noon", Hyams delivers "Outland" into the realm of loving homage, more than just simple plagiarism could achieve.

Viewers literate in science will also find a plethora of flaws in which to indulge; faces inflate when exposed to zero atmosphere, sheets of metal flutter to the ground as though they weren't in the vacuum of space, and there's surprisingly Earth-like gravity on a moon less than three-tenths its size.

But these elements ultimately do not detract from the success of "Outland" and it remains standing strong as one of the best science fiction thrillers of the 1980s.