What I Saw Was What You Got

Currious where you saw it and what it is you feel is a "linguistic mistake"? It was my understanding that the aliens (caviezel et pals) speak acient norse until he learns/has a translation device the language after which he speaks english with an american accent whereas the vikings all speak with British/european accents.

I was requested to watch it on an official screener-DVD.

Dealing with a Viking-movie in which suddenly (characters á la Mass Effect) outlanders arrive, which bring with them a huge alien menace, is hard to swallow.

The main spoke an alien language of clicks and clacks. As the device then states that the Norwegian language is spoken and the main character (after the insertion of the language) starts talking in english, is even harder to swallow for me (it's an American movie, so I understand the switch, but still...).

I know it's science fiction (which I love) and it's fantasy, but still it's my opinion that the whole movie is too far fetched and an easy rip-off of the earlier mentioned movies.

I see. So it's not the language you have trouble with so much as the scene where he "learns" english? Is it just a wierd scene? I don't really see how this is different than a Universal Translator in Star Trek, or Neo learning Kung-fu in The Matrix. I haven't seen the film myself but I'm looking forward to doing so. You don't seem to be the first to not like that particular scene the way it was described to me.

Well AD, please come back here after seeing the whole movie and write me in short your opinion. I'm curiously awaiting it!
:)

I'll try and remember to get back here. It's hard to say how long it will take before I get the chance to see it though. I'm hoping not too long.

Did you know the premise before you saw the film? Part of what interests me is exactly the concept of mixing sci-fi and period film. Do you think the film would play different for someone if they accepted that conceit before going in?

Yes, they mentioned that it was a Viking-movie with aliens as they handed me the DVD. That was the reason they found me the appropriate person to review it.

Knowing this, I already had my doubts, which we're only confirmed by watching it.

If it would appeal to someone who doesn't know anything about the movie? I think it could go either way: they will love it or hate it. With this movie there is no middle way. Should they accept the concept of the story, then yes, they will like it.
But to me as an SF fan, it fell bad.

Anyone else seen it?! Feel free to write your opinion here!

It's interesting that you mentioned Mass Effect though (great game too :) ), because that was exactly what it reminded me of when I had a chance to see a brief portion of the scene where Kainan walks up to a cliff edge after a planetary bombardment.

I'm not sure there's any connection beyond the coincidental though. The concept art for Kainan's alien battle armor that I've seen was done in 2004/5 long before mass effect came out. and the movie was shot at the end of 2006 into the first week of 2007. And the finished product is very much like the concept art.

I'm curious though why you would have doubts about a film before seeing it.

"I'm curious though why you would have doubts about a film before seeing it."

Well, you see a trailer. You read about it on the net. Etc. Because of all that information, you build up an expectation, a feeling, a premonition. Or don't you have that?

By example, the Hancock-trailers gave me the expectation that it would be rubish. I went to see it nonetheless. The result was that I found it a tiny bit better than I expected.

Of Course, but I haven't seen much of anything that indicates I won't like Outlander. So that was more my question. In fact I think the trailer that hit the net today looks pretty great actually.

Though it's true I usually do end up enjoying films more that I expected to when I've heard it's complete crap. Often they aren't really that great either but usually not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. But then there there's also that catagory of film that really just is bad.

hey, i saw it this Sunday on what it seemed to be a world premiere in Latvia :D strange, huh? [if you don't count Cannes festival]

I actually did like the movie - but it's possibly because i was expecting yet another flop like alien vs. predator or some dumb space fantasy stuff like Stargate [imho :D]. what the movie did - it actually took a very serious and mature standpoint from the very start.
you mentioned that the Norse language learning scene seemed too hard to swallow, but i actually enjoyed it :), did you really expect a Hollywood movie to speak in a dead language? [ekhemm... Caviezel in PotC :)] it would have been really rad though!
Yet another thing that i liked was the conceptual design throughout the movie - Ian Mccaig proves to be a great artist!

my rating 8/10 :)