An exciting thriller called The Outsider made by an indie filmmaker using a lot of good talent has come to Blu-ray/DVD. The $4 million production has some good things going for it, but the unimaginative script makes it all too familiar. Not the best I’ve seen for the genre and not the worse either. If you like dramas with a lot of nonstop action, then you are perfect for this barnburner.
Contacted in Afghanistan during a job as a British military mercenary, Lex Walker (Craig Fairbrass ) finds out that his daughter Samantha has been killed in the United States. Leaving the battle he goes to Los Angeles to identify the body. He arrives to find that the girl on the morgue slab is not Samantha. Worried that she has gone missing he goes to her apartment and realizes the dead girl was her roommate.
With no trace of her, he contacts Detective Klein (Jason Patric) of the LA police who says he will handle the investigation. Not certain that the police will do anything and in fear of Samantha’s possible danger, Lex sets out to find his daughter at any cost. Getting a lead that she works for Schuuster (James Caan), Lex barges into the business kingpin’s office. When Schuuster denies knowing the girl, Lex gets information that leads him to Margo (Shannon Elizabeth), one of his former employees.
The movie plays out amid a lot of street fighting and intrigue with Lex and Margo trying to get to the bottom of Samantha’s disappearance. Director Brian A Miller does a good job of moving his story along with a lot of action. His main character has a bull’s persona and Miller gives his audience Craig Fairbrass who’s perfect as Lex. He does a first-rate job of busting up the bad guys. He keeps his camera in close during the confrontations and with excellent choreography the pounding gets very realistic.
I am impressed with the acting of Fairbrass who reminds me a lot of Liam Neeson in Taken who has the same task as Lex Walker here in The Outsider. The film calls for a brutal man and in some very good choreographed fights, Fairbrass shows how tough Walker can be. He’s brash, arrogant, high strung and unstoppable when it comes to depicting Walker. Much like Neeson’s character they want their daughters back at any cost.
In a surprising performance Shannon Elizabeth shows her hard side as Margo a durable woman who can put up a good fight. She gets mixed up with Walker because she knows the dirty dealings of Schuuster and feels Walker can take him out. But, Margo is also cunning and won’t give up what she knows without the cash Walker can give her. Elizabeth works her character artfully into getting what she wants and it’s a performance I’ve never seen out of her before.
The story may be familiar, especially if you have seen the Taken films and you may get some moments of déjà vu. So for this The Outsider may look like the same movie only a different place and time. Both characters, Bryan Mills (Taken 1 & 2) a CIA Operative and Lex Walker a British Military Professional, have the fighting skills to keep themselves alive in the action filled kick-ass situations. Their statures are much the same and they even have a similar accent coming from British heritage.
The video quality is above average with the 1080p Blu-ray and the sound with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 enhances the action sequences. The dialogue comes across clean and clear with very little distortion.
The Outsider has not been rated by the MPAA but does contain violence and language.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Craig Fairbrass, Shannon Elizabeth, Melissa Ordway, James Caan, Jason Patric
Director: Brian A Miller
MPAA Rating: Unrated, Crime Violence, Language
Genre: Crime, Drama, Action
Running Time: 1 hr 34 min
Video Release Date: March 11, 2014
Original Film Release Date: February 7, 2014
Language: English
Format: Blu-ray/DVD
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
