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 r... Read allDuring 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 ... Read allDuring 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.
- Awards
- 3 nominations total
- Donal
- (as John E. Nelles)
- Bjorn
- (as James Rogers)
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This is a mixed bag mingling Vikings, extraterrestrial person and monsters in Alien Predator style . There is also a brief exploration of Viking life with rites, traditional habits and Gods .Taking parts here and there of other films as 13th warrior, Predator, and Beowulf . Some overwhelming wide screen images linger in the mind. At its best, this achieves the grandeur and beauty of a breathtaking Viking epic, at its worst, however, it feels an extravaganza blending various genres. Well starred by James Caviezel as a hero who's not from North but from outer space and relunctantly throws in his lot with these hairy-arsed, hard-drinking Nordic types to tackle a monstrous evil. He is finely accompanied by a nice cast as Sophia Milos, Jack Huston, John Hurt, Cliff Saunders and special mention for Ron Perlman as a two-fisted and tough warrior chief who seeks vengeance for death his wife and son.
It packs a moving and thrilling musical score by Geoff Zanelli. As well as evocative, though dark cinematography by Pierre Gill. The motion picture was well written and directed by Howard McCain. He is a good writer and director who has written and shot a few films. As he has written : Underworld rise of Lycans and filmed : Unspeakable, No dessert dad till you mow the lawn and this Outlander. Rating : 6.5/10. Well worth watching. The flick will appeal to Science-fiction and fantasy enthusiasts.
Spaceship carrying terrifying bloodthirsty monster and a mysterious hero (well, not that mysterious) crash lands on Earth during Viking times. I repeat - Vikings! Swords, battles, mead- drinking and all-around Norse badarsery are featured prominently. The acting is good for the most part, the writing isn't stupid and formulaic, and the director keeps a brisk pace throughout the film. And the space monster is simply terrific, imbued with the perfect amount of personality.
If I was 10 years old when I watched it, I would have been running around on the ceiling for months. Being the mature and responsible grown man I am now, I didn't exactly do that - instead, I recommended it to all my friends and watched it 3 times.
Originally slated for a normal wide release, a series of setbacks plagued production to an extent where it was deemed no longer feasible for such distribution. Why is this important you may ask? Well, thanks to the original and best laid plans producers threw a whopping $50 million into the film which provides us with some damn good effects for a film you would all but assume to be a low budget, straight to DVD release.
The plot is as tantalizing as they come; an alien, Kainan played by James Caviezel crash lands in ancient Nordish territory in the age of the Vikings. But along with his technology he brings a foreign parasite, a deadly creature known as the Moorwen. Caught in the middle of two warring Viking clans headed by Rogthgar (John Hurt) on one side and Gunnar (Ron Peralman) on the other, the primitive tribes must ban together to defeat their new common foe. oh yeah, it is in fact that awesome. The 'modern' story is framed by an interesting if slightly preachy back-story of past betrayal and genocide throughout the history of Kainnan's homeland.
After all this financial mumbo-jumbo is put to the side, what we are left with is a deliciously acted, well made period/sci-fi/creature feature/action film that only works at all due to all originality and the bizarreness of the plot. A few elements keep Outlander from being a cult-masterpiece however; it is too long, there are too many false climaxes and the goofy plot only just holds up. That being said the good news is that this film will make a quick trip to your local movie store bargain bin which means that you can score it for about the cost of a rental. Outlander is worth a look and even if you don't like it, you can't deny how perfectly it defines the so-bad-it's-good adage.
Read all my reviews at: http://www.simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com
Did you know
- TriviaThe language spoken by Kainan ( Jim Caviezel ) and his computer in the beginning of the movie, is actually Icelandic as it was pronounced in the twelfth century. The dialogue between him and the computer is as follows: Kainan asks: "Staður" (=location). Computer responds: "Stadhur: Noreg, taeknistig: Jarnold" which means "Location: Norway, Technology: Iron age". Kainan asks: "Leita skips" (Vessel search). Computer responds: "Leita....engin skip fundust" which means "Searching - no ships found". Kainan says: "Senda merki" (which actually means "send signal" but is translated as "language"). Computer responds: "saeki talmal: norrænu" which means "Loading dialect: Norse". When Kainan has buried his friend he says: "Far vel, herra" which is subtitled as "Sleep well, sir" but more correct would be "Farewell, sir".
- GoofsThe Christian missionary is a few centuries too early.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Starfilm (2017)
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- Also known as
- La Tierra Media
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Box office
- Budget
- $50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $166,003
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $59,581
- Jan 25, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $7,034,698
- Runtime
- 1h 55m(115 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1