Outlander

During the early 8th century, a spaceship carrying Jesus Kainan (Jim Caviezel) crashes in the middle of Viking territory. Kainan is the only human survivor of the crash, but part of their cargo does make it through. This is a deadly creature called a Moorwen, which begins to wreak havoc on the local population. The creature glows with strange lights, and is absolutely bloodthirsty.

After an awkward meeting Jesus Kainan proves himself to the locals by saving only the truly important people in the village, and joins them in the fight against the beast. After all, it is his fault. Along the way, he gets to romance the local king’s daughter, Freya (Sophia Myles, Underworld) who he woos by punching her in the face.

This is another attempt to re-tell the Beowulf story, as with the superior 13th Warrior. While the science-fictional take on the story probably isn’t as effective as the other movie, it is a mostly amusing film. The cast is good, the special effects are decent, and the action scenes are well staged. It is probably 20 minutes too long, and there is a sequence at the end of the second act where Jesus Kainan explains the origins of the Moorwen (they were the dominant species on a world that his people coveted, so they were exterminated, not counting the one here on Earth), that probably shouldn’t be there. It serves to elicit pity for the poor Moorwen, the last survivor of its kind. Normally this isn’t a bad idea, but this is an action, swordsmen-versus-monster story, and the added depth is out of place with the humble nature of the story. Making us feel sorry for the monster just before it is killed doesn’t work that well in this type of movie.

Still, it is a solid effort, and I think most would be pleased with it.
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