Review of Outlander (2008) by Jordan V — 21 Jul 2010

| Freja: Their death was the will of the gods, it was their destiny -.

Kainan: There is no destiny! There is no gods.... there was just me... and I failed them. I failed them...

Freja: [takes Kainan by the hands] If you truly believe that you write the tale of your own life, then the end is up to you. |.

Now this is my kind of movie. To be entirely clear, most of the tone in this review will be incredibly biased and thus, cannot be trusted. I apologize for that, I just really enjoyed this film. Its interesting too, because my interest in Outlander started back in 2001, around the time I began surfing the internet to study video game reviews. Running across IGN dot com, the site quickly became my favorite spot on the entire web; they've got reviews for just about any form of media you can imagine and they've been doing them a much longer time than most. Anyway, in their movies section IGN always has a sidebar list of different upcoming films in which they hold a particular interest. Outlander has been on that list since I first saw the site back in 2001 and after reading the description of the film back then, I was intrigued if not amused to see how well it would turn out.

And its finally here. I'm not sure if the film was ever released in US theaters, I am sure that if it was, it was a limited release (since those don't normally make it to my backwoods town). Of course, the description of the plot probably makes it difficult for most audiences to take seriously, especially if they're not fans of sci-fi. The plot, however much ridicule you think it carries, is actually quite simple. A man named Kainan from another planet crash-lands his ship on Iron Age Earth and is captured by Vikings. The Vikings soon learn that a bloodthirsty creature called the Moorwen was also aboard Kainan's ship and has escaped, carving a swath of bloodshed across the countryside. Kainan must both gain the trust of the Vikings and help them to find some way to kill this seemingly unstoppable monstrosity. As another reviewing agency put it "...it's Beowulf meets Predator...". Personally, I felt like this movie could go either way. It would be either decent or utterly terrible. In either case I'd be entertained, but I couldn't help indulging in my very nerdy urges and of course I've been waiting ten years to see the darn film.

Any fan of sci-fi should be familiar with the concept of extraterrestrial humans, so if that's too much for you to stomach then this is not a film for you. For everyone else, sci-fi nerds and people with open minds, know that however fantastical the plot sounds, this movie has an all-around engaging story, is well-acted, well-shot / edited, and has high quality production value in everything from the costumes to the sets and especially special effects. Even if I am biased, I promise you that's all true. Is the film as epic as Gladiator? No, I wouldn't go that far. Is it as cool as it sounds (if you're a nerd)? Yes, it is definitely as cool as it sounds. I was actually surprised how well the storytelling and progression ebbed and flowed throughout the film, perfectly setting up all the action sequences and helping the viewer connect with the characters so you actually care about what happens to them later on; which isn't always the case in such monster thrillers, where too-often cardboard cutout tweens and nobodies are getting ripped to shreds instead, you couldn't care less and why should you? That is not the case with Outlander.

The casting obviously helped this quite a bit, James Caviezel and Sophia Myles co-star and I found myself wondering why the both of them don't choose more action roles since they both deliver convincing performances. On the flip side of that, I like the chemistry between the pair in some more emotional scenes as an attraction develops between their two characters. This is something that is also rare in films of similar grit, and I was thankful that the romance subplot wasn't just a throwaway or cheap excuse to inject sex and nudity into the film. On top of this we've got John Hurt who plays the aging king Wulfgar, who despite his age is still badass enough to lead the charge and defend his people, as well as a brief appearance by Ron Perlman which caught me totally off-guard but it was a pleasant surprise. One of the most interesting characters in the entire film however, is the Moorwen itself. Seemingly entirely rendered by CG special effects, this thing in my opinion should instantly go down as one of the most memorable monsters in the history of film. The CG also serves a very realistic portrayal of this terrifying predatory beast. Without saying too much, as like most monster films Outlander teases the viewer here and there before giving its villain a close-up, I'll just say that it mixes the concepts of different real animals with the same unstoppable force that we saw in films like Alien, Predator, and Terminator. You don't even see it bleed until the final stage of the film. That's whats really so scary about the Moorwen, it looks incredibly realistic and incredibly wicked-awesome, but it also seems like no matter what our characters try, the Moorwen can't be stopped. And there's a pretty good explanation for it too, I'm sure people from Kainan's advanced civilization could easily have destroyed the creature, but when all he's got is Iron Age technology at his disposal, he's also got a bit of a problem.

In the end, all I can say is: watch it. Just don't think about it too much, don't expect too much, like I said it's not as epic as Gladiator, it's not as scary as Alien, it's not as action-packed as Terminator but it's also not as cheesy as Predator. This is an entertaining movie that you won't regret watching. It's fun and exciting and just a good all-around popcorn flick. I wouldn't say its a great or amazing film, but after waiting ten years to see it, I felt like it was definitely worth the wait.