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James Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John HurtDirector: Howard McCain
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
At first glance this movie appears to be a strange mixture of "hard" sci-fi and mythological history flick, given the ancient nordic "Beowulf" saga an unexpected twist, with the hero actually being a marooned space-farer who unwittingly brought a monstrous extra-terrestial creature with him to early medieval earth. Monstrous Grendel and the dragon of beowulfic origins as alien lifeforms ? We have seen stranger explanations and plot-devices, haven't we ? And don't worry, not much wielding of laser's or futuristic tech to spoil the tone of the viking setting, mud and harsh conditions included.
What follows is well-filmed with a good sense for editing and sound mixture, lovingly outfitted , mostly superior acting by the cast including John Hurt and Ron Perlman in lesser, but memorable roles, more than just one-dimensional villains and as a nice bonus a fittingly epic soundtrack. Not to forget some dry wit by the local vikings, even if it does not dominate the movie, and an understated romance with the not-so-meek female lead, feisty Sophia Myles.
Yes, some factual liberties are being taken - such as oddly capable blacksmith shops and volcanic caves in Norway amongst the more noticable ones, not to mention the Sci-Fi elements - though mostly to facilliate the flow of the story, BUT..... show me one recent movie or even documentary that doesn't...
Even if the CGI is not quite cutting edge "Outlander" ends up being a far superior historical adventure flick than its obvious direct competitors "the 13th Warrior", the overly violent "Pathfinder" and the cheesy "Beowulf" of 2007 (or the even worse 90ies one...*shudder*)... or basically any historical/fantasy movie with a heroic theme made in the last decade except the hard-to-eclipse "LotR"-saga. IMHO, of course...
Yes, it did not make the "big screen" anywhere but for some select festivals (I caught it in Hamburg's fantasy festival, lucky me ) , but in all honesty, that simply proves just how idiotic some studios treat the material they are given... so what else is new ?
Heartily recommended
What follows is well-filmed with a good sense for editing and sound mixture, lovingly outfitted , mostly superior acting by the cast including John Hurt and Ron Perlman in lesser, but memorable roles, more than just one-dimensional villains and as a nice bonus a fittingly epic soundtrack. Not to forget some dry wit by the local vikings, even if it does not dominate the movie, and an understated romance with the not-so-meek female lead, feisty Sophia Myles.
Yes, some factual liberties are being taken - such as oddly capable blacksmith shops and volcanic caves in Norway amongst the more noticable ones, not to mention the Sci-Fi elements - though mostly to facilliate the flow of the story, BUT..... show me one recent movie or even documentary that doesn't...
Even if the CGI is not quite cutting edge "Outlander" ends up being a far superior historical adventure flick than its obvious direct competitors "the 13th Warrior", the overly violent "Pathfinder" and the cheesy "Beowulf" of 2007 (or the even worse 90ies one...*shudder*)... or basically any historical/fantasy movie with a heroic theme made in the last decade except the hard-to-eclipse "LotR"-saga. IMHO, of course...
Yes, it did not make the "big screen" anywhere but for some select festivals (I caught it in Hamburg's fantasy festival, lucky me ) , but in all honesty, that simply proves just how idiotic some studios treat the material they are given... so what else is new ?
Heartily recommended
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having heard lots of good things about this 'blink and you missed it at the cinema' film, I picked it up.
This film is good fun and flows well. I was expecting all the good reviews i'd heard to be hype but, nope, they were pretty accurate.
Don't let the fact this film was poorly served at the cinema put you off, this is definitely NOT direct to DVD trash. The acting is convincing; high production values throughout; some superb location work and the CG was rather excellent. The film is a sci-fi re-telling of the Beowulf legend and it certainly clicked for me, it remained exciting throughout and I was impressed that I actually felt sympathy for the Moorwen, the poor creature was a victim as much as a predator.
I would easily rate this film as being superior to much of the "blockbuster" trash that came out this summer, I only wish i'd had the chance to see it on the big screen.
This film is good fun and flows well. I was expecting all the good reviews i'd heard to be hype but, nope, they were pretty accurate.
Don't let the fact this film was poorly served at the cinema put you off, this is definitely NOT direct to DVD trash. The acting is convincing; high production values throughout; some superb location work and the CG was rather excellent. The film is a sci-fi re-telling of the Beowulf legend and it certainly clicked for me, it remained exciting throughout and I was impressed that I actually felt sympathy for the Moorwen, the poor creature was a victim as much as a predator.
I would easily rate this film as being superior to much of the "blockbuster" trash that came out this summer, I only wish i'd had the chance to see it on the big screen.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
***NB: Review based on the Canadian blu-Ray which is already released***
The first thing I must say is about the Blu-Ray itself. The picture transfer is very sharp and clear even during the (many) dark scenes. Sound is also superb, although only listed as Dolby Digital it nearly blew our speakers away - as good as if not better than some DTS soundtracks. If the UK BD release manages this quality, viewers are in for a treat.
Turning to the story, essentially it is a re-telling of Beowulf vs Grendel only in this case Beowulf is the humanoid alien Kainan stranded on Earth when his spacecraft crash lands, as a result of the creature - a Moorwen, representing Grendel - that had stowed away on board. However unlike Predator, AvP etc. the action all takes place in 9th century Norway not modern day America.
The film combines elements of the Beowulf movies, 13th Warrior, Pathfinder and more contemporary monster movies. My only slight complaint is that in actual fact very little play is made of the fact that here we have a person from an advanced civilisation who, despite having retrieved some of his tech from the crashed ship, effectively goes native straight away. This is helped by a convenient "Matrix" style mind probe that implants the Norse language in about 45 seconds! Maybe his race has a none interference policy but given revelations about why they are fighting the Moorwens later in the movie, seems unlikely. While not expecting Army of Darkness, "Now listen up you primates..." style interaction more could definitely have been made of this.
After overcoming the initial suspicions of the Viking tribe Kainan is fairly readily integrated as a warrior and only just in time as first a rival tribe, then the Moorwen attack. Special effects are well done and the Moorwen reminded me at times of the Balrog from the LOTR movies. Not sure what certificate this will be in the UK but it is quite gory in places particularly towards the end of the movie. Although largely predictable there are a couple of twists, as I mentioned above about the back story of how the Moorwen came to be on the spaceship and the ending is actually quite satisfying including how the person closest to Kainan sees him - "I'm the only one who knows his secret", but quite wide of the mark!
The music score is very good and not only complements the action but would make for good listening in its own right. I hadn't heard of composer Geoff Zanelli before but a quick Google reveals him to be from the Hans Zimmer/Klaus Badelt cadre and style.
In conclusion a very enjoyable movie on an outstanding Blu-Ray - just a pity more mileage wasn't made out of the spaceman in medieval village than was actually the case, which is why 4 stars not 5.
The first thing I must say is about the Blu-Ray itself. The picture transfer is very sharp and clear even during the (many) dark scenes. Sound is also superb, although only listed as Dolby Digital it nearly blew our speakers away - as good as if not better than some DTS soundtracks. If the UK BD release manages this quality, viewers are in for a treat.
Turning to the story, essentially it is a re-telling of Beowulf vs Grendel only in this case Beowulf is the humanoid alien Kainan stranded on Earth when his spacecraft crash lands, as a result of the creature - a Moorwen, representing Grendel - that had stowed away on board. However unlike Predator, AvP etc. the action all takes place in 9th century Norway not modern day America.
The film combines elements of the Beowulf movies, 13th Warrior, Pathfinder and more contemporary monster movies. My only slight complaint is that in actual fact very little play is made of the fact that here we have a person from an advanced civilisation who, despite having retrieved some of his tech from the crashed ship, effectively goes native straight away. This is helped by a convenient "Matrix" style mind probe that implants the Norse language in about 45 seconds! Maybe his race has a none interference policy but given revelations about why they are fighting the Moorwens later in the movie, seems unlikely. While not expecting Army of Darkness, "Now listen up you primates..." style interaction more could definitely have been made of this.
After overcoming the initial suspicions of the Viking tribe Kainan is fairly readily integrated as a warrior and only just in time as first a rival tribe, then the Moorwen attack. Special effects are well done and the Moorwen reminded me at times of the Balrog from the LOTR movies. Not sure what certificate this will be in the UK but it is quite gory in places particularly towards the end of the movie. Although largely predictable there are a couple of twists, as I mentioned above about the back story of how the Moorwen came to be on the spaceship and the ending is actually quite satisfying including how the person closest to Kainan sees him - "I'm the only one who knows his secret", but quite wide of the mark!
The music score is very good and not only complements the action but would make for good listening in its own right. I hadn't heard of composer Geoff Zanelli before but a quick Google reveals him to be from the Hans Zimmer/Klaus Badelt cadre and style.
In conclusion a very enjoyable movie on an outstanding Blu-Ray - just a pity more mileage wasn't made out of the spaceman in medieval village than was actually the case, which is why 4 stars not 5.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unnoticed and completely underrated ..with plenty of slice and...
(THE FILM)
In the year's most action-packed sci-fi adventure, James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) stars as a futuristic soldier who crash lands on Earth with a hellish,... Read more
In the year's most action-packed sci-fi adventure, James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) stars as a futuristic soldier who crash lands on Earth with a hellish,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. F. husseiny
HIGHLY ENJOYABLE
Wasn't sure if i should believe those that say this is rubbish or those that say it's great,glad i went for the latter. Read more
Published 1 month ago by BAZ316
Suspend your critical faculties and enjoy the ride!
This is simply good fun.
I like the idea of someone from an advanced, non-terrestrial civilisation being dumped into a medieval fantasy in Scandinavia. Read more
I like the idea of someone from an advanced, non-terrestrial civilisation being dumped into a medieval fantasy in Scandinavia. Read more
Published 2 months ago by G. G. Buxton Smither
Okay but nothing special
I bought this for my husband as he likes this sort of entertainment but I'm pleased it was reasonably priced because it's nothing special. Read more
Published 2 months ago by D. P. Hardy
Its OK
I did enjoy the film, but there was something about the film that didn't equate perhaps it was me or perhaps it was not as atmospheric as I felt it would be, I felt this was a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Thelma L. Workman
Just done a review on a book so here's one on a DVD
Don't do this as a rule but it's a slow day at work.
This film is a great take on the Vikings, apart from it's Man from Outter Space becomes Viking King. Read more
This film is a great take on the Vikings, apart from it's Man from Outter Space becomes Viking King. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Trump (UK)
I enjoyed it....
An actioner with plenty going on.Jim Caviezel holds the lead well and John Hurt is good as always.It's fast paced,and the fight scenes well executed (if you'll pardon the pun). Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jack Redburn.
very good monster à la hard scifi
This is a thoroughly enjoyable monster movie. Because it is serious scif (if that isn't an oxymoron), the story was believable enough to capture my imagination. Read more
Published 6 months ago by rob crawford
Good Action/Sci-Fi movie
I was really impressed with this movie, awesome special effects, decent acting & a good cast, worth getting if your into Sci-Fi/Action/Horror type of films.
Published 7 months ago by S.B
Outlander
Seller sent this item out fast via post, I would recommened this seller.
At a low price this is worth watching. Good story to this film.
At a low price this is worth watching. Good story to this film.
Published 10 months ago by John A. Dabson
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