Outland Review
★★★☆☆ Peter Hyams’ space-set western starring Sean Connery imitates the greats, with mixed results.
Planets removed from the suave sophistication of his iconic secret agent, Sean Connery stars in Peter Hyams’ Outland as O’Niel, a tough but fair Federal Marshall, newly arrived at the Con-Am titanium mining outpost in the orbit of Jupiter’s innermost moon, Io. The isolated facility, under the management of Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle — Taxi Driver), is a grimy and claustrophobic jungle of grey bulkheads, practically inhospitable to its thousand-plus workforce who work hard but play even harder.
Despite the hardships, the outpost’s quota has never been higher, but when O’Niel connects a series of deaths to a dangerous stimulant designed to boost work efficiency, he unravels a violent drug ring with close ties to the facilities’ corporate management. Unable to buy O’Niel’s support like other members of the force, the corrupt Sheppard seeks to silence his troublesome new Marshall, by any means necessary.
Outland is what you get when you take Gary Cooper’s 1952 western classic High Noon and set it on the ship from Ridley Scott’s Alien. It’s a passable and — given the success of Scott’s groundbreaking sci-fi/horror, released only a few years prior — understandable smushing of concepts, but it’s definitely less than the sum of its parts.
The Alien vibe is obvious from the start. The mining facility, populated almost entirely of blue-collar workers feels like an extension of the crew of the Nostromo, particularly Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto’s bonus-obsessed tandem. Even the opening moments with Jerry Goldsmith’s eerie and atmospheric score is a clear approximation, playing over the film’s logo which also forms in a slow and ominous manner as the credits roll.
It’s a continuation of the same lived-in aesthetics made so popular by Star Wars a few years before, a sharp contrast to the bright and clinical decors of science fiction of old. Outland has this same look, a gritty and believable world where you can practically smell the grease and sweat and blood.
Unfortunately, beyond the visual components, there isn’t too much of real interest. The story is predictable, filled with head-scratching narrative choices that undercut the tension. Characters do silly things like meet co-conspirators and prep weapons in full view of the security cameras and — in the film’s dumbest moment — fire weapons in giant space greenhouses.
Connery’s character enjoys a few moments of action — a fast-paced chase sequence through the cramped corridors is a highlight — but is mostly relegated to long scenes of typing commands into consoles, awkward exchanges with his wife and son that seemingly go on forever, or just playing squash. Mainly just squash.
Outland has its moments. The first half set up is unquestionably stronger, an intriguing unravelling of a conspiracy, feeling similar to what we would get years later on the small screen with The Expanse. Connery puts in a commendable shift, matched by Frances Sternhagen doing an admirable impression of Star Trek’s Doctor McCoy as Marian Lazarus.
It’s the literal definition of passable. A solid but unremarkable film that’s been cobbled together by bits of much greater movies. If you don’t mind that, or if you’re looking for a film that feels like it lives in the grubby, corporate-driven Alien universe, this might be worth a shot.
Originally published at michaelkenny.uk
Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please hit the clap button and follow me for more thoughts on film. I try to post at least one new review per day.
You can also find me on Letterboxd where I try to keep up with the kids and their witty meme reviews. You know the kind.
