Review of Outlander (2008) by Phil H — 04 Jun 2014

Taking a strong lead from 'Alien 3' and 'The Relic' methinks with this one, quite a good action flick none the less but it starts out quite drab and lifeless with little on offer.

The cast is lifted with the presence of Hurt and Caviezel is strong as the hero but the rest of the cast can't really compare and come across rather cliched and unoriginal.

Its an odd plot really as it appears to be set way back in time as the hero from another planet crash lands on earth in the year 709AD amongst viking warriors?! Once you overcome that subplot you get a kind of 'Pathfinder' meets 'Highlander' romp which slowly melts into 'The Relic' with a large beastie that moves and see's much like a Giger Alien from 'Alien 3'. One such scene in the caves towards the finale is pretty much a dead ringer for the corridor sequences in Alien 3.

Quite a bit of blood n gore as viking males get torn apart by a reasonable looking alien creature, kinda like a large neon lion with more teeth. Effects are standard CGI fare and nothing special but the flashback sequence to Caviezel's home world is a nice looking animation.

Not bad, good fun with a few flaws and oddities like why the viking folk don't seem too surprised by the strangely dressed short haired stranger in their midst. And why Caviezel's alien species appears to be completely identical to the human race, I guess it could happen perhaps. Its a decent sci-fi/period/monster flick which is worthy of a viewing despite being a complete rip off of various other better sci-fi movies.