The western might be one of the most abused genres in film right now. Once holding the sway of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in theaters, now westerns are left to indie films and the rare big budget Oscar grab. It seems to be that if you can’t make a crime or genre film in the modern world, you throw into a cheap western.
That’s what The Outsider really is: a revenge film set in the west where the character seeking revenge is really a minor character in his own film.
Jing Phang (Jon Foo) is a Chinese railroad worker who’s wife (Nelli Tsay) is raped by the son (Kaiwi Lyman) of the local Marshal (Trace Adkins). Phang is all in for revenge, of course, but the film focuses on a tracker (Sean Patrick Flanery) hired to find him.
Outside of the film being very dark, making it hard to figure out what’s going on a lot of times, we’re essentially given a revenge film without following the character who’s seeking it. With as much talent as the film has it’s understandable, as Foo isn’t a known commodity in the States and you have a cast full of character actors, but it feels off that Foo essentially has a handful of glorified cameo scenes in what’s supposed to be his film.
At under 90 minutes the film is a quick view but don’t go out of your way to watch it unless you really like darkly lit films.
Nothing of significance.
Cinedigm presents The Outsider. Directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. Written by Sean Ryan. Starring John Foo, Trace Adkins, Sean Patrick Flanery. Run Time: 86 minutes Not Rated . Released on DVD: 6.14.19
