Fresh and Exciting

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Outland - a dystopian sci-fi flick which combines the trades of Western and crime movies with a sci-fi scenario. A perfect mix, with really good acting even in all the minor roles - and on top you get Sean Connery himself as an Space Marshall waiting for his "High Noon" like Gary Cooper did in Zinnemann's immortal classic!Innovative mix for its time and like Zardoz (also with Sean Connery) one of the sci-fi classics of 2nd line.

Apparently in the future all boardroom extras have taken up smoking and they are too cheap to turn the lights on. Oh and that we are going to mine titanium ore from one of Jupiter's moons, Io. They are crap at painting too. In the end this film was just like Alien (1979) but without the alien in it. The sci-fi had parallels with earth that did not test the mind. Pretty straight-forward and watchable space action-adventure.

Whether he's playing James Bond (Agent 007) on Earth - or - William O'Neil (Federal Marshal) on one of Jupiter's moons - You can be sure that when Sean Connery's no-nonsense character is in charge, he's a dude who means business and will do what he sees as necessary to get the job done right.Featuring some pretty decent visual effects and set designs (for 1981) - Originally Outland was intended to be a standard Western, but, then director/screenwriter, Peter Hyams scrapped that idea and set the whole story, instead, in the future (in outer space).And, as a result, I think Hyams did alright with this tale that deals with restoring law & order (and settling scores) at the point of (what else?) a loaded shotgun.To be totally honest here - I was initially expecting to dislike this 1981, Sci-Fi/Thriller (and, with that, give it no mercy when it came to my review comments) - But, for the most part, this $16 million, British production kept me fairly interested and entertained throughout its 110-minute running time.

The best thing about this average Sci-Fi are the space shots of Jupiter and the mining colony and some bland if interesting sets of a gloomy but uninspiring interiors. All of the sets have more appeal than the story or the action.In fact, the violence and confrontations are pedestrian and sometimes pathetically dull. There is one elongated chase that goes on forever and ends, finally, with such lackluster that it is the harbinger of more to come. The final "gunfight" is also nothing much and it is rather mundane. The performances and characters are not bad but just can't breathe any life into this lifeless and flat story that has been done many times. There is also that one final punch that is laughably a lame ending to it all.