Outlander (2008)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Howard McCain

Writers (WGA):

Dirk Blackman (written by) &
Howard McCain (written by)

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (Latvia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It destroyed his world. He won't let it destroy ours.

Plot:

During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.

Plot Keywords:

Viking | Alien | Old Norse | Beowulf | Norse

Cast

James Caviezel	...	Kainan
Sophia Myles	...	Freya
Jack Huston	...	Wulfric
John Hurt	...	Rothgar
Cliff Saunders	...	Boromir
Patrick Stevenson	...	Unferth
Aidan Devine	...	Einar
Ron Perlman	...	Gunnar
Bailey Maughan	...	Erick
John Nelles	...	Donal (as John E. Nelles)
James Preston Rogers	...	Bjorn (as James Rogers)
Scott Owen	...	Aethril
Petra Prazak	...	Mara
Owen Pattison	...	Galen, son of Kainen
Matt Cooke	...	Captain

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Norse, Old

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Ireland:15A | Hong Kong:IIB | Sweden:15 | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Bay of Islands, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Company:

Weinstein Company, The

Trivia:

Originally the film was to be shot in New Zealand with a significantly higher budget. They already scouted New Zealand and Weta was going to do the effects. But the financing fell through and the production got delayed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Freya comes face to face with the creature in the cave, saliva from the creature's mouth drops on her cheek. On the next shot we see her face is clear. Then on the next shot the creature's saliva is on her face again.

Quotes:

Wulfric: This is where your ship went down?
Kainan: That's right.
Wulfric: In a lake?
Kainan: Don't ask.

Very Entertaining Movie

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.