"Outlander" doesn't fit squarely into any one or two or five genres, but I think it's best described as a creature feature. And it's a damn good one. Blending science fiction, fantasy, horror, adventure, and Viking mythology, the film is highly entertaining. More importantly, though, is that the film is competently made.<br /><br />"Outlander" opens with the character Kainan - played by Jim Caviezel - crash-landing his spaceship somewhere in Norway during the time of the Vikings. Alone and forced to forge an alliance with some belligerent Vikings, Kainan has some work to do...namely, killing a vicious beast called the Moorwen, which had stowed away in his ship and is now wreaking havoc in Viking Land. If you're anything like me, you're already predisposed to liking the movie just by reading that much about the premise. To say anything more about the story would certainly lead into spoiler territory, but I will say this: there are a couple of great game-changers, one of which enhances the man-vs.-beast angle of the plot in the best possible way.<br /><br />Caviezel is solid as the lead, ably projecting angst, confidence, regret, and hurt whenever called upon to do so. All of the other characters are pretty much one-note, so there's no single standout performance among the supporting players. But there's also no laughably-bad one, either. John Hurt was a welcome presence in this one as the aged King Rothgar, and it's always a pleasure when Ron Perlman shows up anywhere - here, he plays Rothgar's brutish rival forced to ally himself with his enemy to fight the Moorwen. The beautiful Sophia Myles is great eye candy, but she has a thankless role as the rebellious king's daughter and hence not a lot to work with. Overall, the cast isn't great, but it's perfectly adequate; the same can be said for the characters.<br /><br />The CGI and makeup effects in the film are generally terrific. The Moorwen is wonderfully realized and doesn't look cheesy at all on its own. I was very, very impressed with the design and function of the monster. It definitely doesn't scream "low budget," which is kind of what I was expecting. Happily, it defies those expectations informed by so many terrible SciFi Original Movies ("Frankenfish" or "Manticore," anyone?). Additionally, some flashback scenes in the second half of the film that explore Kainan's "home" planet are very cool to behold.<br /><br />The one bone I'd pick with the effects comes when the Moorwen interacts with the human characters. The CGI kills, specifically, are typically neither creative nor convincing. Again, though, the rest of the effects are good enough to cover for this slight blunder.<br /><br />"Outlander" borrows heavily from other films in the genres it crosses, but don't hold that against it. It's really an inspired effort that doesn't come across as a work of imitation at all. It's not perfect, and some moments will have you rolling your eyes, but you won't find yourself laughing at things that aren't supposed to be funny and you won't be checking your watch.