MOVIE: Outcast

STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen, Liu Yifei, Bill Su, Andy On, Coco Wang, Anoja Dias, Wiliam Herbert, Shane P. Zhang

RELEASE DATE: February 6th, 2015

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Roku, Vudu)

By Justin Pomerville (2 Broke Geeks)

There are very few movies that I have seen that make me outright ask “What is going on?”. I can use that phrase with a few Nicolas Cage films from that “middle era” time of his career. Films that have been at the bottom of the Nic Gauge usually are littered with them. So, spoiler alert early on: Outcast is one of them.

The plot takes place during the Crusades. A young commander Jacob, (played by Hayden Christensen) leads an army to slaughter an Arab City. Soldier Gallain (played by Cage) pleads with Jacob to leave the people alone. Instead, Jacob exiles him for abandoning God’s will. Three years later in Song, China, a dying emperor names his youngest child, Prince Zhao (played by Bill Su Jianhang) as his successor,. This angers his older brother, Prince Shing (played by Andy On). Zhao escapes with his sister, Lian (played by Liu Yifei) where they must venture out to the emperor’s guards to be saved. They meet Jacob and Gallain on their adventure, and two swear to protect the young king-to-be from Shing and his Black Gaurd army.

Outcast is a laughable film. It’s an action film that suffers from an incohesive script, terrible action sequences, and a cast that overall, feels bored and lifeless. Hayden Christensen over the years, has been a punching bag for his acting capabilities, and unfortunately, this film does not help. He lacks emotion. Every facial expression is the same, having a very sunken sad look. Nicolas Cage’s performance is not that great as well and almost comical with an over-the-top British accent. Unlike Cage’s normal flare, he felt very boring on screen. 

The film is about 90 minutes (too) long, and Cage is only in it for roughly 25 minutes overall. So, although this is a Nic Cage film, it felt a lot like he was not a huge focus. Which is fine. It’s similar to his role in Jiu Jitsu, where he was the top-billed actor, but was barely in it. Because of that and having a lack of anything else really to say about this film, it will go near the bottom of “Hot Mess” on the Nic Gauge.