Outlander

Its interesting how many movies that were delayed or hardly released theatrically I really enjoy (Equilibrium and Donnie Darko being amongst the best). This film was made on a 40+ M budget (so its a lot better then a "sci fi original" type) but was buried by the Weinstein company, delayed for 2 years (it was shot in 2007) and not released until 2009 on under 100 screens.

So onto Outlander, which is pretty much A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court set in Norway, 709 AD. A human from space named Kanen (Jim Caviezel who puts forth a good effort no matter the quality of the movie) crashes into a lake and immediately sets out to hunt the Moorwen (a CGI alien). He's quickly captured by a viking tribe that includes the old king Rothgar (a dignified John Hurt), his daughter Freya (Sophia Myles) and respected and hotheated warrior Wulfric (Jack Huston, doing a great Karl Urban impression). Obviously, they don't believe A) he's from space and B) a bloodthirsty alien is on the loose, but after a scrap involving a bear and some viking games, Kanen becomes an honorary member of the viking clan...

Part of the fun of watching this epic sci-fi flick is the melting pot of film references... So we've got period Vikings (Pathfinder) with an outsider helping them (The 13th Warrior) but they have primitive technology and are overmatched (Alien 3). The alien swims well underwater (Alien: Resurrection), stealthily stalks and kills its prey 1 by 1 (Predator), looks like an amalgam of earth creatures (the Relic), and features nifty bio luminescence (Pitch Black).

So yeah, Outlander, despite the simple concept, not super original.... Its unpretentious popcorn fun iwith first time director Howard McCain delivering a stream of pulpy Shakespeare light style dialogue and violent kills while resisting the Zack Snyder bullettime and Michael Bay quick cutting action movie cliches. McCain has obviously seen Alien and Jaws and although this movie has a decent budget, hes smart to hold back before showing us the monster in full. There's about forty five minutes of everyday life in the Viking community anda shocker in a movie like this, character development. There's a war with a rival clan (the leader of which is played by the always intense Ron Perlman) and a rivalry between Kanen and Wulfric. This relationship gets the most screen time and culminates in a Viking "shield game."

From a story aspect, there's a message involving mankind’s rapacious pillaging of resources and destruction of other cultures (Kanen has a tragic hero's backstory), but it’s difficult to take anything in Outlander too seriously. We can just about accept that English substitutes for Norwegian and a high tech MacGuffin allows Kanen to speak the same language as the locals. But it’s rather more difficult to accept the horrible all American kid who Kanen befriends (Newt from Aliens he isn't) named Erik (and there's not even an Erik the Red reference to be found).

At heart, Outlander is essentially a fun B-movie blessed with a reasonably-sized budget that allows for epic Canadian sets and locations and decent special effects courtesy of the geniuses at the Weta Workshop. At a shade under two hours, you even get some characterization and its a surprising good cast all are game... Outlander takes the concept and keeps it pretty serious, so yes, Vikings vs Aliens works as a fairly quality experience. Worth the watch if you are a genre fan..

7/10