jamesgandrew
With the late 70's giving us Star Wars and Alien, these films inspired a barrage of filmmakers to have a more realistic edge with sci-fi. Outland is no exception and while the film is heavily flawed, it's a decent sci-fi movie with lots of twists and turns to keep you engaged. The miniatures and models look fantastic and still hold up today in my opinion. It inhabits that Alien mining operation look throughout and Peter Hyams did a great job on an aesthetic point of view. It's not as detailed as Alien, but what is? The story is also pretty well written and many have labelled it as High Noon in space. It definitely has that western feeling especially with the showdown climax and your typical western pistols have been replaced with shotguns. Sean Connery delivers a great performance and I would say this is one of his best post Bond films along with The Name of the Rose. Despite these positives there are quite a few negatives. The explosive decompression scenes are quite dated and are unintentionally hilarious with peoples heads inflating like balloons. The child actor who plays Marshall O Neill's son is quite possibly the worst child actor ever! It takes you out of the movie for a while but thankfully it's only a brief scene.If you haven't seen this I would recommend Outland, especially if you're a fan of Alien or any other industrial sci-fi movie from that era. It's quite overlooked so definitely give it a look.
ben hibburd
Outland is directed by Peter Hyams. It stars Sean Connery as Marshall William O'niel, an honest by the book police officer. He has recently been stationed in charge of a mining colony on IO, which is one of the moons orbiting Jupiter. The colony has been seeing increasing amounts of suicides in recent months leading up to his arrival. Which is exacerbated in the two weeks he's been situated on the base. However the crew and medical team pass these incidents off as normal occurrences. Their reasoning is that it tends to happen as a result of the length of time workers are contracted too, and the severe loneliness and depression that deep space brings about.However as the amount of suicides escalate O'niel senses there maybe foul play Involved. In his Investigation he gets the help of a medic on board the colony Dr. Lazarus played by Frances Sternhagen. Sternhagen is one of the best parts of the film. She adds a dry sarcastic wit to the film which makes watching her interactions with Connery's straight laced marshal a joy to watch.On the other hand one of the weaker parts of the film features a drug investigation plot that didn't develop as far as I would of liked. There are no surprises, and it's over before Ii even has time to develop and build suspense. This plot element however brings O'niel into contact with Sheppard a union leader played by Peter Boyle. After a frosty encounter they share at the beginning of the film, he disappears for the best part of 45 minutes. His role was barely given any screen time to be fleshed out. Other then one scene where he tells O'niel the cycle of capitalism, he isn't given any memorable moments in the film.Outland has been compared a lot to Fred Zinnemann's High Noon. Whilst it definitely feels like it's treading similar water when the film plays out it's third act. It does however have enough original elements for the first two acts for it too differentiate Itself. However the third act does start too fall flat as the film hits the similar beats of High Noon.One of the best parts about the film without a doubt is the set design. It's one of the best representations of a future society I've seen In a Sci-Fi film. It still holds up remarkably well today. Peter Hyams and Philip Harrison give the colony a dilapidated, grimy, community that feels lived in. The station is a place that is constantly vibrant with average blue collar workers, that just so happens to be in space.Whilst the film does suffer from an under-written villain, and an under- developed detective story. Outland is well paced and has strong direction. It's complimented by two strong performances. Both Connery and Sternhagen are well fleshed out and have distinct personalities. The unique environment that the characters inhabit is reason enough to watch this under-seen gem.
dworldeater
The much underrated Outland is a great sci fi thriller heavily influenced by westerns and Ridley Scott's Alien. The tone of the film is quite dark and is very realistic and gritty. Sean Connery is in top form here as leading man in pursuit of justice and he delivers one of his best performances in my opinion. The film is quite misanthropic actually. Even though humans have advanced technologically and have the means of space travel and mining colonies on Jupiter, people are still mostly rotten here. The film is a great subtext about corporate greed and capitalism and how it affects the populace at large. Even though this is in a futuristic sci fi setting, the message is still relevant in contemporary times. Jerry Goldsmith did the score and has a similar ambiance as Alien.(Jerry Goldsmith previously did the score on Alien as well) The special f/x are decent and the storytelling, performances and direction are excellent. Writer/director Peter Hyams made an excellent science fiction film, bravo!
Scott LeBrun
Yes, it can accurately be described as a Western in disguise, as "High Noon" in space, basically, but that doesn't mean that it isn't well executed and consistently entertaining. Written, directed, and photographed by Peter Hyams, it stars Sean Connery, as commanding a presence as he's ever been, as W.T. O'Niel, a federal marshal stationed on Io, the third moon of Jupiter, where a mining operation has been established. O'Niel discovers that the workers are being given a drug which greatly increases their productivity but also eventually drives them insane. He becomes determined to nail the person(s) responsible for this corruption, but comes to discover that he'll be mostly alone in his fight - even after his nemesis has two hired guns sent after him. "Outland" may be predictable, standard stuff script wise, but it's also a very good looking film, with impressive production design (by Philip Harrison) and sets, all built at Englands' famed Pinewood Studios. Commendably, O'Niel, despite his Dudley Do Right attitude, isn't portrayed as some infallible hero; rather, it's his tendency to make waves that has gotten him transferred from one depressing environment to another. Still, you do root for him all the way, and you also come to like Dr. Lazarus, winningly played by Frances Sternhagen. She's got plenty of sass, and actually comes to O'Niels' aid for the suspenseful finale instead of it being the other way around. Hyams, too, refrains from trying to create any sort of romantic or sexual tension between the two, keeping both characters professional. The back-and-forth chemistry between Connery and Sternhagen is a delight. Peter Boyle is excellent, too, as the company manager who only wants to see results. Other pros include James B. Sikking, a regular in Hyams's films, as the slightly shady Montone, Steven Berkoff, as the unhinged worker Sagan, and John Ratzenberger, in a memorable bit as another miner who goes off the deep end. Jerry Goldsmith supplies the atmospheric score, and the editing is courtesy of the talented veteran Stuart Baird. All in all, this sizes up as solid entertainment, moving along nicely towards its final showdown. Any fan of the genre or of Connery should be quite satisfied. Seven out of 10.
