I’m actually looking forward to seeing this.
Then again, I write a column on Asian film for our magazine as well as review films for our ezine. And I enjoy bad film. How else could I watch so many Kung Fu flicks? :rolleyes:
I find this one intriguing for many reasons beyond Cage yelling ‘I am the white ghost!’ Watching the China-release versus the U.S.-release play out is interesting, particularly to me as I follow such news. Also, I like Crystal Liu.
Nicolas Cage’s ‘Outcast’ Twice Halted for Showing in Chinese Cinemas, Now Set to Debut in US Theaters
Arclight’s Outcast, an American-Chinese-Canadian action movie directed by Nick Powell and written by James Dormer, is set to be seen in US theaters beginning February 27 according to Movie Insider. The film was originally slated for release on September 26, 2014 in China but was postponed to January 16, 2015, then again halted, this time indefinitely.
8:33 PM EST 1/26/2015 by Kara Michelle, Celebeat Reporter
Nicolas Cage’s Ourcast teaser poster
Arclight’s Outcast, an American-Chinese-Canadian action movie directed by Nick Powell and written by James Dormer, is set to be seen in US theaters beginning February 27 according to Movie Insider. The film was originally slated for release on September 26, 2014 in China but was postponed to January 16, 2015, then again halted, this time indefinitely.
Set in 10th Century China, Outcast stars Nicholas Cage as Gallain and Hayden Christensen as Jacob, both of whom are ex-Crusaders. The film also co-stars Liu Yifei as Lian, Ji Ke Jun Yi as Mei, and Andy On as Shing. According to the studio’s plot summary, when the heir of the imperial throne becomes the target of assassination by his despised older brother, the young prince’s only hope is the protection of his sister, and the reluctant aid of Jacob, who must overcome his own personal demons and rally the assistance of Gallain to return the prince to his rightful place on the throne.
Outcast is a joint venture production involving US-Australian Arclight Films, Jeremy Bolt of U.K.'s Notorious Films, France’s 22h22, and Canada’s Media Max Prods. China’s Yunnan Film Group is the financier and also a co-producer in the project. The movies was originally set to be shown in more than 5,000 theaters in China but was stopped mere hours from the scheduled screening.
“I’m confounded. A delay within 24 hours of the release is extremely unusual. We went through all the proper approvals. I just don’t know what to say,” Bolt told reporters back in September following the development. “The reasons for this are not clear. We simply don’t know if it is censorship problem, or something else. Marketing and promotion have been done and money has been spent,” Arclight’s chief creative officer Mike Gabrawy added.
Outcast is not the first foreign movie that has been stopped from screening at the last minute in China. Last year, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained was pulled out from theaters right after it started. Chinese censors also refused to have Paramount Pictures’ biblical epic Noah to be shown at all.
Looks like it got screened in Charlotte:
[URL=“http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/02/02/5488742/outcast-b-movie-quality.html#.VM-wvC4bO_s”]
‘Outcast’ B-movie quality
By ROGER MOORE
Tribune News Service
Posted: Monday, Feb. 02, 2015
“Outcast” is what happens when stunt men direct.
The fights are marvelously choreographed, the swordplay splendid and the bloody body count high in director Nicholas Powell’s Middle East/Far East quest tale. The script? Derivative, dim and dull. The performances? Not much, either.
Essentially a Hayden Christensen vehicle with Nicolas Cage, Chinese scenery and swordsmanship to recommend it, “Outcast” is another variation on"The Hidden Fortress." That’s the 1960s samurai film that George Lucas leaned on for the original “Star Wars.”
A Chinese king has died, his chosen heir, protected by his sister (Yifei Liu) is on the run. An opium-addicted knight, fleeing the demons that committing mass murder in the Middle East has given him, takes on the quest to get them to safety.
That would be Jacob (Christensen), whom we’ve seen slaughtering Muslim occupiers of the Holy Land, and then getting lectured about it by his sad-eyed mentor, Gallain (Cage).
“The blood we spill here is on OUR blades, on our soul’s, not God’s!”
The old knight suggested they get away from it all, head east. And that, apparently, is what they’ve done.
But in China, Shing (Andy On) is determined to get rid of us younger brother, the heir, and take the royal seal from him. So his Black Guards are hot on the trail of the young prince and his hot older sister. Help us, Jacob-wan, she pleads. You’re our only hope.
Christensen returns to the swordplay that launched his career with gusto and a seriously Bieberish haircut. He suffers slings and arrows and wields his sword like an enraged Land Rover owner waves his dipstick. He’s only happy when it’s covered in red.
Cage disappears for an hour of the film, returning as a bandit the Chinese call “The White Ghost.” He, too, is haunted by his bloody past.
“What do the dead whisper?”
“What is owed must be paid.”
It’s all impossible fights, unlikely rescues and Jacob waking up in the care of this or that exotic woman tending to his wounds and getting him off the opium.
“Tears of a poppy dull a man’s senses.”
As will “Outcast,” though it never pretends to be anything more than what it is - an Englishlanguage B-movie ready to be dubbed for the Chinese market.
‘OUTCAST’
1.5 stars (Grade D-plus)
Cast: Hayden Christensen, Nicolas Cage, Yifei Liu, Andy On
Directed by Nicholas Powell, script by James Dormer. An eOne release.
Running time: 1:39
MPAA Rating: Unrated, with bloody swordplay, opium use, profanity
