The Outsider

The outline plot of this movie, and the fact that it had Craig Fairbrass in a starring role made me think this had the ingredients of a fun, action movie so I looked forward to this with much anticipation of a well spent hour and a half. I am not one for being too petty and analysing a movie and I'm sure many movie fans will spot something such as poor acting before I would.

However, there was so many elements of this film. That were below par, I just felt they had to be mentioned.

I was disappointed in the performance of the lead male, Craig Fairbrass.

He did not seem convincing, and his lines simply just did not seem natural.

In addition to this, the editing and sound were very poor along with the picture quality.

I gave this 4 out of 10 and I was possibly being a little generous.

There was some promise in this film. But I have to say it got buried under poor writing, unimaginative cinematography, and a heavy-handed approach to film-making and storytelling.

Leto performed well, given the fact they handed him an impossible character. One which is supposed to connect with the audience on an emotional level, while also being a detached psychopathic killer. Believe it or not, there is a way to do this engagingly and 'correctly'. Leon the Professional comes to mind. They didn't do that here.

The overly-long transition scenes were a poor attempt at pacing. The acting rarely managed to deliver the goods, and the ending was trite and unimpressive. However, they clearly splurged on the scoring which was a welcome surprise. It's a Japanese lovefest all the way around, giving us all the the things traditionally associated with the country. But while I appreciate paying homage to an incredibly unique and beautiful culture, I don't think staining it with the horrific crimes of a small subset of the population was entirely appropriate.

Bottom line? I don't think this movie is worth your time. And I'm sorry to say that. It really had some potential, it was so unrealized.

Sleepy Action Movie with a Few Familiar Faces for Support and a Hulking Tough Guy from across the Pond. The Plot is as Haggard and Confused as the Driving Fights are Buy the Book Boring.

James Caan Struggles for Breath, not During a Confrontation but just a Conversation and Jason Patric is Forgettable as are the Two Beauties along for Eye Candy. Craig Fairbrass is the Star Sporting a Large Frame, Military Training, and a Thick Accent that makes things even Less Attainable.

Overall, it is Not Worth Much even for the Most Completest of DTV Action Junkies and those who are the most Forgiving of Fisticuffs and Firearms Fans, because this one has a Pacing that just Plods.

I went to see this movie because of the recognizable names of Shannon Elisabeth, Jason Patrick, and James Caan, but looking back at it, I'm not sure why. There was a time when having all three in a movie would draw a bigger crowd, but I'm not sure if all their 15 minutes of fame ever overlapped with each other. The movie is about a father who finds out his daughter's dead and goes to LA to ID a body that turns out not to be his daughter. When I read this description I assumed given the actors evolved that James Caan was the dad, Shannon Elisabeth was the daughter, and Jason Patrick had something to do with her going missing, but instead all three top names play mostly back seat drivers to some British actor behind the wheel who's most likely a bigger draw in the UK than he is here. The movie is very genetic and bland and kind of goes fully by the numbers for an action flick with nothing really sticking out to impress me. Although I did love James Caan in it.

I wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised for this low budget film. Suspenseful, action packed and good story line, this movie kept me waiting for what was next. The first five minutes got you straight into the film with the murder of a girl thought to be the daughter of Lex Walker. As the plot unfolded, it was easy to see who was behind the murder but the suspense came when you didn't know where his investigation would lead him next. Good mix with the British and American cast. The action was great, clean and not blood thirsty which tied in well with Lex Walkers character as a military man. Only criticism is I would have liked it better without all the 'F' bombs, the movie would have been better without it.