On O List of Movie Reviews
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Outland (1981)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
6/16
6/16:
The trouble with Peter Hyams is he's not good at capturing my attention.
Most of his films are bland, and they always have a poor flow. Peter Hyams almost made Outland work,
but as soon as the two hired killers came aboard at the space station, he lost me. The rest of the film is
badly edited. Obviously, it's all about riding the same wave set off by Alien
and Blade Runner by copying off their styles.
On the other hand, Sean Connery gives a good, solid performance. I like him this way, and he's fun to watch.
This time, I didn't see any trace of dollar signs in Sean Connery's eyes, so he took this one seriously,
having missed out on his chance to appear in Chariots of Fire because
Outland went over schedule. At the same time, Peter Boyle is at his villainous best.
There are a lot of similarities between this one and Fred Zinnemann's
High Noon. What I like the most about the former is the neo-noir
look that's highlighted by the sharp in/exterior visuals of the space station. The absence of aliens is helpful,
too, because I didn't feel like seeing them.
All in all, had Peter Hyams done a better job with the climax, Outland would've been rated higher because
a lot of parts were, in fact, successful.