Outlander

Simultaneously the best and worst film about Vikings hunting space monsters you’re ever likely to see, Outlander focuses on Kainan (a miscast Jim Caviezel) an interstellar soldier who crashes in Norway circa 790 AD. Forced to band with the inhabitants of a Norse village who don’t believe a word he says (they never do, do they?), he is soon aiding the motley crew of inconsistently accented warriors in trapping a (fairly uninspired) Godzila-like beastie. There’s the usual business of a blossoming romance, an Iraq war subtext (every fantasy film needs one) and some impressively staged action, but the budgetary corner-cutting is glaring (director McCain is a Roger Corman protégé) and the whole thing takes itself far too seriously. The rare flashes of humour and a scenery-munching Ron Perlman, however, should touch a nerve with anyone nostalgic for Xena: Warrior Princess. Now that would be a movie worth forking out for.