Outland

Peter Hyams didn't always make silly movies like A Sound of Thunder, and he did make some interesting stuff in the seventies and eighties. Outland may have aged and the first half is too dull and talky, but design of the base is great, even Aliens would like it, it has a thrilling conclusion, a charismatic Sean Connery and a great Frances Sternhagen. Because who needs a sexy babe to have the hero's back when you can have a chattering cynical 50-something with a penchant for alcoholism? (12/07/2015)

A western pretending to be a dirty sci-fi flick set on a mining base on Io. In his role as a stubborn cop investigating strange cases of suicide that the evil corporation seems to have a hand in, Connery delivers one clever line after another. But the best is Frances Sternhagen as a cynical doctor with an inclination toward alcoholism. The laughable “action" climax shows just how much the genre has changed over the years. (07/04/2020)

A sci-fi that acts like a classic crime film in the first half and becomes a paraphrase of the equally classic western High Noon in the second half? Why not! Outland is a continuous one-man show by Sean Connery, who is extremely likable and in several scenes (an excellent chase with one of the villains ending with a fight in the kitchen) also extremely action-packed, all set against the perfect and believable backdrop of a moon base, where some of the ideas (weightless cells) are a joy to behold. Hyams' skillful direction drives the plot forward, backed by Goldsmith's dynamic music, and when it comes to the aforementioned Western style and Connery's character awaiting the arrival of a shuttle with someone on board who wants to take the "sheriff" on, you can cut the tension. And that final showdown! A good film. Very good. (26/08/2012)

At High Noon set in space a-la Alien, starring Sean Connery? I’m in! The premise is fine, Connery is fine, and not to mention Jerry Goldsmith, but Hyams as a screenwriter is not very impressive and doesn't bring anything worth remembering and lasting in more than a hundred minutes. I don't want to slag it, audiovisually, it’s a first-rate sci-fi flick, and the atmosphere in the second half works perhaps even better than in the aforementioned western (which I'm not too fond of), but it's marred by a story that is too simple and a weak portrayal of the villain syndicate. That said, something did linger: the spicy explosions of heads in a deadly atmosphere, later upgraded in the famous Total Recall... 60% (14/02/2018)

Pretty well-made sci-fi, showing that in the 70s and 80s, it was simply successful to utilize closed spaces of spaceships and planetary stations to make both the characters and the audience fear. Everything is so beautifully depressing, and yet it is possible to lead an action film here that can really captivate at times. Sean Connery is on fire again. (12/10/2015)