Tuesday 1 February 2011

Outlander (4 Stars)


This 2008 film cost $47 million to make. When it was released it earned $160,000 in the USA. Ouch. It did slightly better abroad, earning $5 million worldwide. Judging by these figures it was an epic fail. And yet it isn't a bad film. Not at all.

The film stars top Hollwood actors. Jim Caviezel, John Hurt and Ron Perlman are usually a guarantee for a good film. It has a large cast of supporting actors and extras. The special effects are competent. The story is a cross between the legend of Beowulf and Michael Moorcock's sword and sorcery novels.

The date is 709 AD. A space ship crashes in Norway. Only one member of the crew survives, Kainan, but unknown to him a murderous monster has stowed away on the craft. This monster, called a Moorwen, begins to destroy Viking villages, killing everyone. Kainan has to unite warring Viking chiefs to battle the Moorwen.

I don't know why the film flopped. Bad marketing? Maybe nobody knew what to make of it. Most alien spaceships crash in Manhattan, not in Norway. The American audience can't relate to it. This is a film worth watching. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it.

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