Hayden Christensen Is ‘Outcast’ Alongside A Horrendously Laughable Nicolas Cage

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This is how I felt watching the movie.

You never know. Sometimes you’ll stumble upon a movie that surprises you. Unfortunately, the only surprise I got watching Outcast was how terrible it was. Boring and bland, the only highlights are the parody of acting that is Nicolas Cage. He finally shows up about an hour in and steals each of his short scenes due to his absurd accent and silly hairstyle.

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The story is supposedly about a young son exiled after his older brother kills the emperor to take over the throne. However, it really just follows Jacob (Hayden Christensen) rescuing the son of the emperor and his sister in their return to get the throne back. I didn’t care. There’s zero character development. None. The best part is the stunts, but that’s to be expected as the first-time director, Nick Powell, has a heavy background in stunt coordination. There are also a shocking amount of slow-mos that are completely unecessary.

OUTCAST_9_Low+Res The directing is laughable. It’s all crazy angles and hand-held that’s really distracting. The score is a rip-off of a bad TV movie and causes constant eye rolls. (Complete with the Gladiator-type singing of battle scenes.)

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What is with Hayden’s hair? For a guy who never showers, it certainly looks clean and coiffed. He even has the same hair in flashbacks! Odd.OUTCAST_7_Low+Res

Can we also talk about how it’s all in English? That’s something that REALLY bugs me. This is supposed to be The Far East in the 12th Century. It’s just silly to hear all the Chinese speaking perfect English. This used to be par for the course, but it’s so nice how recently even TV shows embrace native languages. Subtitles are really not that big of a deal.OUTCAST_5_Low+Res

In between the bits of crazy sword fights and Hayden Christensen is lifeless and forgettable. Nicolas Cage, however, is in rare form with an over-acted performance that must be seen to be believed.
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Available on demand, digital and March 31st on Bluray and DVD.