Movie Review: Outlander

Outlander

As genre crossovers go, the Science Fiction/Viking mash-up is probably one of the rarest among the contenders. Even Science Fiction/Western sub-genre has more members in it’s little gang; Joss Whedon’s Firefly being the latest. But aliens and Norsemen? Nope, I can count the number of times I’ve seen that with my pinkie finger. That lends 2008’s Outlander a certain notoriety that no other film can really claim. Sure I love Viking movies like Prince Valiant, the 13th Warrior, and Beowulf, but none of those have spaceships and maurading aliens.

Long story short (the movie is just shy of 2 hours), spaceman Kainan is part of a failed attempt to terraform a planet by genocide. Naturally the dominant lifeforms, called Moorwen, were pissed that Kainan’s people were raining fire on them, chasing them into pits, and generally giving them a hard time. One of the aliens escapes the bombings, kills the first settlers on the planet and hitches a ride on the survivors’ ship, which subsequently crashes into Earth. Kainan, the lone survivor, must join with some rather unhygenic fellows to hunt down the last of the Moorwen and save the hot girl (Sophia Myles from Underworld).

It’s all pretty simple really.

Despite the long running time, the movie works. Mostly, it’s due to the fact that it’s not trying to be anything but what the audience expects it to be; an action movie. It also doesn’t try to offer complicated plot twists to spice things up with surprise developments or character turns. It is what it is and what it is is a rather ludicrous concept executed rather well, one that is predictable, but genuinely satisfying.

Naturally, there are a few issues I’ve got with this movie. One is the odd 2nd act, where James Caviezel starts bonding with the rest of the Vikings. There’s a good 20 minute section where they are playing a game called “Shields”. The set piece really breaks up the momentum of the film, especially coming after the great beginning.

You realize later this whole scene is forshadowing a trap they lay for the Moorwen. This brilliant plan fails, which isn’t unexpected, but the way the shoddy camera work and editing is. Movements aren’t always clear and sometimes you don’t know what is happening. Wulfric (Jack Huston), is running from the monster and then all of a sudden he’s swimming in the oil. There are a lot of fight scenes with this same kind of thing, where it seems as if movements don’t follow through cuts. It’s all very aggravating.

Another thing is the way they used Ron Perlman who plays Gunnar, a rival King. I’ve been a fan of Perlman’s since his old Beauty and the Beast days and felt his character deserved more than what he got here. For one, he looked great as a barbarian, with fur, and scars, and two stone hammers smashing skulls. The fight between him and John Hurt (who should not be taking hammer blows at his age) was great, but so so short.

But really, the final grade for the film depends on how satisfying it was at the end, and I’ve got to say, I was very satisfied. It’s got a great blend of things going for it - a strong cast, decent effects, rich production design, and a unique if somewhat preposterous premise. I would have definitely paid money to watch it in the theater.