Outcast (2014 film)

Outcast is a 2014 American-Chinese-Canadian[3][4] action film, directed by Nick Powell in his directorial debut and written by James Dormer.[5] It stars Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen, Liu Yifei, Ji Ke Jun Yi, and Andy On.

Outcast
Chinese theatrical release poster
Directed byNick Powell
Written byJames Dormer
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJoel Ransom
Edited by
  • Olivier Gourlay
  • Nicolas Trembasiewicz
Music byGuillaume Roussel
Production
companies
  • Canal+
  • Media Max Productions
  • Notorious Films
  • 22h22
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22) (Beijing premiere)
  • February 6, 2015 (2015-02-06) (United States)
  • April 3, 2015 (2015-04-03) (China)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • China
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million
Box office$5.1 million[2]

The film was slated for release on September 26, 2014, in China, but was postponed to April 3, 2015.[6][7][4][8] The film received negative reviews from critics.[9]

Plot

During the Crusades, young commander Jacob (Hayden Christensen) leads an army including Gallain (Nicolas Cage) in the slaughter of an Arab city. Gallain pleads with Jacob to leave the people alone, claiming killing them is not God's will, and go East. Gallain witnesses Jacob become increasingly violent and leaves.

3 years later in Song China, a dying Emperor chooses his young son Prince Zhao to be his successor, giving him the imperial seal and sending him away in the care of his older sister, Princess Lian. Shortly thereafter, their sadistic older brother, Prince Shing, murders the King in a fit of rage after having been passed over as heir. Shing assumes command of the Emperor's Black Guard, ordering the deaths of his siblings in order to obtain the seal and the legitimacy of the throne. The guards and army only cooperate under fear of retribution.

Zhao and Lian make it to a tavern before their horse dies. Inside they ask for help, but the Black Guard catch up to them. Jacob, though high on opium, defends them and kills the guards before moving on, refusing to escort them. Later on, remembering the horrors of combat, he decides to assist them. Traveling through a village destroyed by the Black Guard, they rescue a girl, Xiaolei. They attempt to take refuge in the desert city Jingshao. They are betrayed by their hosts, who summon the Black Guard, hoping to win the price on their heads. This forces them to fight their way out and escape by boat to the Silver Mountain, where some bandits Jacob originally sought take refuge.

Jacob is injured and the others are captured by the bandits. Jacob awakens to find Gallain saved them, though he is now known as the White Ghost. Jacob sought out Gallain to explain to him that he did not murder women and children in the Crusades as Gallain believed, and they reconcile. Shortly thereafter, Shing and the Black Guard corner them at the bandit hideout. After intense fighting, Gallain is killed. Jacob duels Shing; as Shing gets the upper hand, Lian intervenes and is stabbed by Shing. Jacob, enraged, overpowers Shing and kills him. With Shing's threat eliminated, the leader of the Black Guard swears loyalty to Prince Zhao.

Jacob and Lian survive their injuries and they, Zhao and Xiaolei are escorted by the Black Guard to the city, where Zhao is recognized as the new Emperor. Jacob, however, still tormented by his past and fearful of the future, leaves Lian and buries Gallain before he resumes traveling on his own.

Cast

Production

In 2013, the film was officially announced on the Arclight films website.

Filming

Principal photography started in April 2014 in the Yunnan province of China.

Release

Box office

The film grossed $5.1 million in other territories.[2]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Outcast holds an approval rating of 4% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10.[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned Outcast a score of 33 out of 100 rating based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[11]

Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com centered his review on the performances, primarily that of Nicolas Cage. Of it, he said it marked a career shift from Cage's "entertainingly eccentric phase" into his "genuinely befuddling and perhaps sad phase", and noted his "peculiar (of course)", "near-British accent"; he also criticized Hayden Christensen's performance as "lifeless". Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the movie a "loony", "wannabe epic rattling with swords and clichés". She chiefly criticized the "barnacle-encrusted plot" as being "dumbed down to the studs", along with the performance of Christensen, while praising photography and "surprisingly classy" battle scenes.[12] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times had kinder words to say, calling the movie "visually arresting, smartly paced, well-edited", but otherwise "unremarkable". He said the film may best be remembered for Cage's "warrior coif", saying it was "perhaps his most unflattering movie hairdo yet — and that's saying a lot" and that Cage could "pinch-hit for Gene Simmons at a KISS concert".[13] And Sebastian Zavala, writing for ScreenAnarchy.com, said that the movie "could certainly have been a better vehicle for an unleashed, energetic Cage", but that "what we end up with is a lifeless, slightly-entertaining-yet-ultimately-disappointing action “epic”."[14]

Sequel

On April 15, 2014, producer Jeremy Bolt announced plans for a sequel.[15]

References
  1. "OUTCAST (15)". British Board of Film Classification. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  2. "Outcast". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  3. "What's Key to Better China-US Film Co-production". China Radio International. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. "Outcast pulled from China screens". Film Business Asia. September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  5. "Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen to Begin 'Outcast' Chinese Shoot in April". hollywoodreporter.com. November 17, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  6. 《白幽灵传奇之绝命逃亡》定档4月3日 去年9月26日曾在影院上演“一日游”. mtime.com (in Chinese). March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  7. 《绝命逃亡》或明年1月16日公映 影院播放预告 改名《白幽灵传奇之绝命逃亡》. mtime.com (in Chinese). December 4, 2014. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  8. 《绝命逃亡》定档9月26日 刘亦菲花裙造型甜美 凯奇将来华宣传. mtime.com (in Chinese). June 16, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  9. Hawson, Fred (June 5, 2015). "Review: Bland acting, overacting in 'Outcast'". ABS-CBN Corporation. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021.
  10. "Outcast (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  11. "Outcast". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  12. Catsoulis, Jeannette (February 5, 2015). "An Heir Finds Trouble on His Way to the Throne". NY Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  13. Goldstein, Gary (February 5, 2016). "Review 'Outcast' goes medieval with Nicolas Cage as one-eyed outlaw". LA Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  14. Kahn, Sebastian Zavala (October 3, 2018). "Review: OUTCAST (2015), a lifeless and confusing action "epic"". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  15. Frater, Patrick (April 16, 2014). "Nicolas Cage's China-Set 'Outcast' Gets Plans for a Sequel". Variety.com. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
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