Outlander Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Outlander Blu-ray Movie Review

Beowulf meets Predator in this interesting film which is a lot better than you might expect from its lackluster box office.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 13, 2010

Is Beowulf cursed for filmmakers? Beowulf’s source material, an epic Old English poem rightly considered one of the epochal achievements of Anglo-Saxon literature and early literary accomplishments generally, has had a rather spotty record in the past decade or so as filmmakers have attempted to deal with the gigantic scope of the original verse. Three films have been made since 1999 covering more or less the same territory, 1999’s Beowulf with Christopher Lambert, 2005’s Beowulf and Grendel with future 300 star Gerard Butler, and, probably best known, Robert Zemeckis’ motion capture-fest, the 2007 Beowulf. Though Zemeckis’ film did relatively well at the worldwide box office, it still fell drastically short of recouping its production costs and was seen as a rather costly failure. The first two films barely made a dent in the box office reports and quickly were shuffled off to the alleys of home video. 2008’s Outlander seems to be following in that perhaps sad tradition, but it bears some distinct differences from the Beowulfs which have gone before. The film actually recasts Beowulf in a neomodern light, as a stranded alien named Kainan (James Caviezel of The Passion of the Christ) crash lands in eighth century Viking territory, along with an unwanted monstrous stowaway, which Kainan calls Moorwen. What we get therefore is a series of allusions to the original Beowulf story, with Kainan standing in for the poem’s hero and Moorwen standing in for Grendel, all told from a revisionist science fiction perspective that is both boon and bane for the film.

Kainan's not in Kansas anymore.

Revisiting folktales and even scripture with a modernist take is nothing new. Rod Serling loved to travel this interesting territory in many episodes of Twilight Zone, for example, notably the well-remembered “Two,” which found a duet of post-apocalyptic survivors (Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery) who may or may not “really” be Adam and Eve. It’s often fun and fanciful to see these oft-told tales in a new light, and it’s to Outlander’s credit that Beowulf has been so imaginatively recast in this new version. With a de rigeur opening featuring a spaceship hurtling from outer space to smash into a terrestrial lake, the audience is primed for some sort of science fiction fare. When instead we find ourselves in eighth century Viking territory, it’s a bracing moment and one which initially augurs very well for the film.

Outlander continues to defy expectations with several interesting twists and turns as its story develops. Kainan is taken prisoner by a Viking tribe headed by King Rothgar (John Hurt). Rothgar’s daughter Freya (Sophia Myles) is a tempestuous lass who’s as skilled with a sword as any male in the group. She is betrothed, not entirely to her liking, to future King Wulfric (Jack Huston, grandson of legendary actor-director John). Something has decimated a neighboring tribe headed by Gunnar (the inestimable Ron Perlman) and Rothgar fears that Gunnar will conclude it’s Rothgar’s tribe that has done the nasty deeds, and wonders if Kainan had something to do with it. Kainan on the other hand insists he’s hunting a “dragon,” which the Vikings scoff at in disbelief.

Around this perhaps hokey sounding set of premises director and co-writer Howard McCain manages to weave an interesting combination of historical action (think Richard Fleischer’s 1958 The Vikings with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis) and sci-fi monster movies (think Alien and Predator). McCain routinely circumvents convention by ping-ponging back and forth between the two elements, leaving the audience a little off-kilter, which adds to the film’s appeal. Unfortunately, the film ultimately succumbs to a few too many tropes and stereotypes within each of its idioms to ever be completely successful. We know that Kainan and Freya will have a turbulent relationship which will ultimately mellow into true love. We know that Kainan and Ulfric will begin as adversaries and end as comrades. We know the Vikings will not believe there is a monster in their midst until too late, and then turn to Kainan for salvation.

The over-arching clichés of Outlander sadly undermine the smaller moments of the film, which are often brilliantly handled. Performances here are uniformly excellent, if Caviezel’s Kainan is a little too tamped down and frankly Christ-like for its own good. Hurt manages to weave gold out of some frankly dross-level dialogue, and Perlman chews up the scenery in his few scenes. Huston is an appealing, if less than muscular, presence. But it’s Myles’ Freya that is the emotional center of the film (strangely so, considering the film is told largely from Kainan’s point of view). Her performance here is striking (sometimes literally so, as she’s not above punching a man to make her point) in a role not so terribly different from her Isolde in the Kevin Reynolds Tristan + Isolde. Myles provides a lot of the spunk and spark that drives Outlander, though she, too, falls prey to McCain’s tendency toward cliché. At the climactic battle, Freya is forced to exclaim she’s joining the men because the monster has destroyed everything she once loved. How many times have you heard something like that before?

McCain shows a clear directorial vision and helms a fluid and impressive production here. The CGI is quite good throughout Outlander, with Kainan’s home world (in flashbacks) admirably created and the Moorwen given just the right combination of terror and, believe it or not, vulnerability. The monster is obviously based on the Alien-Predator model, but creature designer Patrick Tatopolous introduces some fun innovations, such as some lethal whip-like appendages and the monster’s proclivity to light up from within as it’s about to strike in attack. The recreation of the Viking village is also quite excellent, though evidently costume designer Debra Hanson utilized some of her handiwork from Beowulf and Grendel to augment the wardrobes of this film. On the down side, Geoff Zanelli’s score seems like it was cobbled together from temp tracks by Alan Silverstri for the Zemeckis Beowulf.

Too often modern audiences are beset with films which are completely unoriginal, patchwork quilts of previous blockbusters that producers hope will make lightning strike twice. Outlander might itself be faulted for this tendency to meld the Beowulf mythos onto a Predator skeleton, but the film as a whole is more inventive than a lot of the clones that come toddling down the Hollywood pike with far too much frequency. The film misses the mark in a generalist sense, with some ludicrous dialogue and too many cliché-ridden moments for its own good, but there’s a really interesting combination of elements in Outlander that helps it at least partially escape the gravity of its shorcomings. I’d much rather watch a failed attempt like this any day of the week than the tired rehashes that typically make up summer blockbuster fare.

Outlander Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Outlander is strangely dichotomous, almost like its source elements, in its AVC encoded 1080p image in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. There are many moments throughout this film which bristle with brilliant clarity and sharp detail. Unfortunately these moments are intercut with some strangely squishy soft segments, especially in some of the amber-hued exterior scenes. CGI here is excellent and is of course completely sharp looking, and for large swaths of the film, we get a very good, near reference quality looking Blu-ray. What hampers the film is some lackluster contrast, especially in the many darker nighttime scenes, which become a haze of imprecision and muddiness. Colors throughout the film are very robust, with a nicely variegated palette. McCain loves showy shots of filtered light beams penetrating heavy woods, and those moments are truly gorgeous, with dust mites floating through the air and really excellent gradations of white. The Blu-ray exhibits no artifacting even on the heavily brocaded Viking costumes. Some of the nighttime scenes are quite grainy, but overall the film boasts a natural grain look. About 85% of this film looks quite sharp indeed, but that other 15% is troubling enough to keep Outlander from receiving a higher score.

Outlander Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Outlander provides one slam-bang sonic experience with its incredibly forceful and immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. (One caveat: my review copy defaulted to the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 track for some reason, so make sure to toggle your audio choices on your remote to make sure you have selected the lossless option). From the opening moments when we're treated to whip pans of sound as Kainan's ship hurtles through space, to the ambient noises of the forest he finds himself in, to, much later, the ominous LFE of the Moorwen, this is about as exciting a soundscape as I've experienced in a Beowulf meets Predator film lately. (Of course, I jest). Seriously, though, this is an extremely well detailed soundtrack, which provides everything from the flutter of leaves to the pounding of Viking shields with absolute clarity and great directionality. Sound effects literally surround the listener, and not only in the action sequences. Even in the relatively quieter village moments, listen carefully, and you'll hear a host of gentler noises like womenfolk chattering in the background, that augment the surround channels and help to create a very lifelike sonic experience. The DTS track is also notable for some of the most robust low end I've heard recently. The film also comes with standard DD 5.1 mixes in English and French.

Outlander Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Outlander is packed to its monstrous gills with supplements, all in SD.

Deleted Scenes (41:22) feature a host of alternate versions of a lot of key scenes.

Visual Effects Tests (8:40 split into two programs of 2:07 and 6:33), include animatics and other pre-viz test runs, including an interesting demo compilation.

Animatics (23:88) is slightly misnamed, as it also includes storyboards, which are intercut with actual footage from the film as segments were being assembled.

Artwork Galleries feature drawings split into the categoriesof Costumes, Creatures, Locations, Props and Scenes.

Two Worlds, One Film (16:32) is an above average making of featurette which covers the Beowulf angle and features a wealth of interview footage with the stars and crew.

The Feature Commentary offers director and co-writer McCain, along with co-wrtier Dirk Blackman and producers Christ Roberts and John Schimmel. It's an interesting conversation dealing with both the literary ambitions of the screenwriters and the realities of trying to mount a film this large on a relatively limited budget.

Outlander Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Every so often we reviewers get a nice, unexpected surprise, as a largely overlooked film ends up in our review pile. Outlander is no masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it boasts an innovative premise, an excellent production design, and some impressive performances. If you can overlook some hokey dialogue and a sometimes cliché-ridden plot, Outlander provides some rock-'em, sock-'em excitement in an unusual framework. It's certainly worth a rental, and you Beowulf meets Predator fans will no doubt want it in your permanent collection.