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Cast: Jason Patric, James Caan, Craig Fairbrass
Recalled from the battlefields of Afghanistan to identify the remains of his daughter, British mercenary Lex Walker (Craig Fairbrass) arrives in Los Angeles to find that the body in the morgue belongs to a stranger. With his daughter now missing, Walker convinces a street-wise detective (Jason Patric) that his daughter is still alive and in danger. The two follow a trail of high-tech intrigue that leads them to his daughter’s former boss (James Caan), a crooked cyber-millionaire who will do whatever it takes to protect his empire – including taking down anyone who gets in his way. Driven by desperation and rage, Walker must fight his way through an army of thugs and hired killers to save the one person that means more to him than life itself.
"The Outsider" tells the story of British mercenary Lex Walker. One day while serving in Afghanistan he is called in and told that his daughter was found dead. He leaves immediately for Los Angeles to claim the body and have it sent back to London for burial but after arriving he finds out the body was not his daughter. Now knowing she is missing he will do whatever it takes to find her and take her back home With the help of a detective he looks at a cyber-millionaire who is daughter last worked for but things are not as they seem.
The art work on the DVD has Jason Patric and James Caan in clear sight but after the film began I slowly learned that they are both supporting actors in the film and the main lead is Craig Fairbrass. This was not much of a problem because Patric and Caan still play very important roles in the film and are on screen quite a bit.
The story and who was behind the killing and the man's daughter going missing is pretty easy to figure out right from the start, the filmmakers do not really attempt to hide that fact at all but the story itself is not that bad. It still manages to keep you interested and it tosses in several twists along the way that helps in building some suspense as Alex sets out to find his daughter. The actions scenes are also very well none and British actor, Craig Fairbrass handles them and the more dramatic scenes very well.
"The Outsider" is not the best of its kind but it is a pretty entertaining crime film with a good amount of drama and action, the story is pretty simple but the execution is done well. I already spoke about the film's stars but I forgot to mention that the film also has Shannon Elizabeth in it as well. Her role is also a supporting one but she also plays an important character to the story. I did like the fact that not one character seemed to be wasted here. Like I said before Fairbrass has very good as the lead character and Caan played a very good villain as usual.
Production wise the film looks and sounds very good and the locations in and around L.A. were great. "The Outsider" is a crime film that rose above its budget by having a simply yet entertaining story and a cast that is very likable. In the end it was nothing special but I never expected it to be, instead I found it to be an enjoyable film that kept me entertained all the way to the end, I cannot ask for anything more than that. Available on DVD and Blu-ray, you can order the DVD HERE and the Blu-ray HERE
Released by RLJ Entertainment/Image Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****