Outlander
I got hold of a copy of Outlander (2008) in the Blockbuster “2 for $20″ bin the other day. This film apparently came out with limited release, so I had never had an opportunity to see it at the theater, and for the longest time I was completely unaware of its existence. According to Wikipedia, Outlander “had a wide release on January 23, 2009 at 81 theaters and grossed $59,581 at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend. As of January 27, 2009 the film grossed $72,096 at the U.S. box office and $3,668,658 at the box office worldwide.” It comes packaged as a “Blockbuster Exclusive” and I’ve had mixed success with these.
But what attracted me to it were 1) Vikings, 2) the cast, and 3) aliens…and in that order. There are few enough films made with Vikings in them so I have an instant desire to watch any of them to see what the filmmaker has done. In this case, it’s to take another twist of the Beowulf story, but interjecting an alien hero (John Caviezel) into the Beowulf role (Karl Urban was originally slated for the part) and an alien monster he happens to be mortal enemies with into the Grendel role. Also in the cast is the lovely Sophia Myles as Freya (not the goddess) who you’ll have seen in Underworld as a bitchy vampire, Ron Perlman (Hellboy), and John Hurt as King Rothgar (without the “H”).
We’re not talking Lord of the Rings here, but Outlander is a good film. It is similar to Beowulf but like 13th Warrior and Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel (2005) offers some interesting twists. In Gunnarsson’s film, it is the sins of Hrothgar himself that bring Grendel’s wrath down upon his people. In Outlander, it is the sins of the Beowulf character, Caviezel’s Kainan. It also works because it offers us enough back-story to make sense of Kainan’s motivations – not to mention the monster’s, here called a Moorwen.
The acting is good. The script is not brilliant but it is also good. That comes as no surprise to me because the writer, Howard McCain, also wrote the screenplay to 2009′s Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. The cinematography is better than I expected and the scenery is gorgeous. According to Wikipedia, filming was done at Halifax and Nine Mile River, Nova Scotia, as well as at the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland, “which was found by a production designer who looked at photos of Newfoundland’s west coast after rejecting scouted locations New Zealand and British Columbia. The bay possessed an inlet that simulated part of a fjord for the film.”
The set was very nicely done. An actual village was built, complete with long houses and a hall and a nice big vat of frothing mead. They even built a real Viking ship, which was, I think, a nice touch. This was not a budget sci-fi film. Some attempt, at least, was made to present 8th century Norse life in a realistic manner. There is even a Christian priest who declaims against the gods and is insulted in turn and whose fate will bring a smile to your face, guaranteed (If you remember 1981′s Dragonslayer, you will know what I mean).
I had a few bones to pick with some of the things said by the Vikings about fate, that all is decided by the gods, but Freya had a nice line: “If you truly believe that you write the tale of your life, then the end is up to you.” Which, I think, captures the essence of Beowulf and the Viking spirit perfectly.
All in all, I recommend Outlander and I feel the $10 spent on it was not at all wasted.
Hrafnkell Haraldsson is the author of A Heathen’s Day, which since 2005 has addressed the life and thoughts of a modern day Heathen. He maintains a second blog, Digital Gods (www.digital-gods.com) which focuses on polytheism for the digital age. He is also the founder of the Mos Maiorum Foundation (www.mosmaiorum.org) which is dedicated to the study and support of Paganism as ethnic religion. 
Thanks for the heads-up. I'm a sucker for alternate Beowulf stories. I'd never even heard of the movie, but it sounds like it'd be worth a rental at least.
You bet, Sorn. I hadn't heard of it either and being a "Blockbuster Special" probably isn't going to get it better known since not everybody uses Blockbuster. Definitely worth the price of a rental, I thought.
I think I saw a preview/promo for Outlander on a recent DVD rental – I'd dismissed it at once, seemed literally out of this world. Reading your review and a bit of the background, perhaps I'll give it a chance. Of course, it would be added to a Netflix queue that's already about 200 titles' long!
It'll take me a while to get to it.
Lynne, thanks for commenting. My first thought was, "Aliens and Vikings! I gotta have this!" Of course, I read the back of the DVD case and decided that yes, I did want to give it a try and that I'd just buy it for the 10 bucks since it's only twice the price of a rental.
This movie kicks ASS like ten times over. Yup. And Jim C is *HOT*! I loved this movie. I can't believe I didn't tell you about it. *slaps head* I knew you'd like it.
Women love Jim C. Easy sell there! Guys, of course, might like Sophia Myles. She's not some helpless screaming victim but a good "Viking" role model. Not surprised you liked it too, Gran. And no problem, I found it eventually!
Freya was hot too. If I leaned that way…dang. She was an awesome woman character. My favorite line is:
"He worshiped Odin. Not some carpenter that got nailed to a cross."
Win for the Norsemen! *cheers*
Ah, I meant to add that line to my review! Yes, I loved that. They definitely captured something of the Heathen spirit in the film, and as I said, I loved the priest's fate.
Hi Hrafnkell,
It also became the third Beowulf-related movie I’ve seen, so I did a very basic review of them here if you’re interested. Thanks again for having written this review — without it, I might never have watched Outlander, and would really have missed out on a great angle of the Beowulf/Grendel tale 
I finally watched Outlander, and enjoyed it
Cheers,
*lynne*
Lynne, it didn’t take you too long to get through 200 titles! Impressive. I’m glad you enjoyed the movie. It’s one I”ll watch more than once, unlike the CGI version. I read your own review and commented.
Teeheehee, actually I bumped it up to the top of the queue last week, it was calling out to me
btw: Another aside from my Icelandic Literature class was a mention of Eaters of the Dead — a book I bought but have yet to read… I didn’t know its movie version is the 13th Warrior, nor did I know it was another Beowulf take (I know you mention it here, but I guess it didn’t compute). Guess what else is getting added to my queue? LoL!
Cheers!
*lynne*
You haven’t seen 13th Warrior? Shame on you! Bad Beowulf fan!
The book is nothing great. Much of it is a travelogue either taken directly from or inspired by Ibn Fahdlan’s actual account, but the movie, for all the criticisms leveled at it, was very good. I’m sure you’ll like it.