Here we have a film about two viking tribes going berserk in an ongoing clan-vendetta on the one hand. On the other hand, the plot throws in a huge alien monster, crash-landing on earth, followed by a human hunter (not from this earth) – in the form of James Caviezel – determined to kill off the giant booger. Call me whatever you want, but a film bonkers enough to mix these two elements, is bound to raise my interest. And I'm sure there's other people thinking exactly like me. As a bonus, we also get to see John Hurt and Ron Pearlman in this epic monster picture (sure, both perhaps slightly underused, but at least they're starring in something decent enough, so who cares?). "Outlander" is much closer to mindless popcorn entertainment than anything else, but as far as monster movies go, it delivers. What matters most in a film like this, are the special effects, and these are outstanding. Naturally, the monster is made mostly out of CGI, however, you can clearly see (especially near the end) the CGI regarding the creature was based on very detailed sculptures of the beast. It looks great, even changes color and above all, has some form of intelligence. Kainan (James Caviezel) his background story was even decent too. Him and the creature are here on earth for a reason, and the vikings are merely along for the ride. And their odds are not looking good. Further more, "Outlander" plays it straight-faced. No stupid attempts at humor were made, and this helps things a lot. In my humble opinion, "Outlander" easily surpasses other recent 'alien creatures running amok on earth' films like for example the two "Alien Vs. Predator" installments. When going into "Outlander", just switch off your brain, and have fun or allow yourself to be impressed. It's slick, solid & polished enough to be so.
Review of Outlander
Outlander
(2008)
About vikings and a giant monster from space... nothing to get all grumpy about, is there?
24 February 2010