Taking Beowulf’s template and tweaking it ever so slightly (isn’t modern movie-making so simple?), Outlander is the monsters-terrorise-town tale of ninja spaceman Kainan (Jim “Jesus” Caviezel) and the Viking tribe he unwittingly unleashes an alien “dragon” upon after crash landing circa 709AD in Norway.
At first blaming Kainan for the massacre of their people, the Vikings (led by a hammy John Hurt) soon learn there is a much more terrible foe to be fought and release the “Outlander” from his captivity in order to help them rid themselves of the foul predator known as a Moorwen. Of course with only primitive weapons like swords, spears and such, this might prove to be an undertaking easier assigned than accomplished.
A perfectly acceptable piece of popcorn fluff, Outlander provides everything you’d expect a derivative lower-budget concept fantasy flick would: predictable (rehashed) plot, decent enough action scenes, acceptable special effects and passable attempts at acting.
Caviezel is wooden; Sophia Myles as the token feisty proto-feminist Freya is miscast but scraping sufficiency; a bald, bearded and tattoo-faced cameoing Ron Perlman looks like he stumbled onto the set by accident before quickly mumbling some lines and disappearing; and Jack Huston as lead hunter Viking Wolfric is even more wooden.
It’s all charming and fun in a goofy, preposterous sort of a way. Obviously it won’t be winning any awards for originality and there are no surprises throughout its briskly passing 115 minutes. But you know what, sometimes this sort of guff is just about enough to entertain an undemanding brain.