Outlander by Roq

Starring: Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Ron Perlman and John Hurt
Director: Howard McCain
Written By: Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain
Running Time: 115 Minutes

This film probably shouldn't have worked. It had no reason to. I mean, even on paper it sounds a bit suspect: Space soldier crash lands on Earth during the time of Vikings, gets captured by said horn-helmed-warriors and eventually helps them do battle against a horrific monster. Wait, that actually sounds kind of awesome. And it WAS! This was a FUN movie. I can only imagine writers Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain (who also directed) are the biggest sci-fi/fantasy nerds in the world. Nerds who wanted to bring their two passions together in perfect harmony. And while they didn't succeed, they did have a lot of fun doing it. There are shades of "Predator", "The 13th Warrior", and "Beowulf" in this flick. They went balls to the wall and came up with something that, while not perfect, is a great way to while away a night.

Jim Caviezel stars as Kainan, a space marine that crash lands on our world. He's the only survivor to crawl out of the wreckage and soon comes into contact w/ the local Viking tribe. He, of course, being an 'outlander', is blamed for the destruction of a neighboring Viking village. He learns the local dialect through the rocket science of his superior technology but stupidly ditches his sweet armor. I would have been sporting that space-age plate armor for the duration! Long story short, soon he's hog tied and brought in for questioning. Then the real fun begins. Caviezel's good in this role; he's fun in it and makes it believable. He's able to bring sadness, regret and hope to Kainan, a literal stranger in a strange land.

Sophia Myles is radiant as Freya, John Hurt brings sufficient gravitas as the sagacious King Rothgar and Jack Huston grows on you as the king-in-waiting Wulfric. They were good but I have to tell you it was Ron Perlman, as Gunnar, who brought the thunder. He wields dual hammers for Odin's sake! Thor times two! Bald headed, bearded with tats on his face, Pearlman take the fight to whoever wants some: Viking or monster. It's Perlman at his finest! And speaking of monster, the Morvin, as it's called is pretty sweet. An alpha predator with a great back story, this thing is a force of nature and the tribe has their hands full dealing with this monstrosity. Heads fly, chests explode, limbs go flying every which way and the damn things snacks on every person in sight. Our kind of beastie.

Outlander is fun. It won't replace the classics on your DVD shelf but it deserves a place among them.

3 out of 5