I had been interested in seeing Outlander ever since I heard it described as a fantasy re-telling of the Beowulf legend. It did not disappoint in this regard. From beginning to end, Outlander is an action-packed genre mash-up that manages to make Beowulf more fun than any retelling in recent history (including The 13th Warrior). All of the above having been said, there are some things to keep in mind before viewing Outlander. <br /><br />First, the film is not historically accurate. Anybody who goes into a film that features aliens and spacecraft in its advertising and expects a faithful historical reproduction of Beowulf will be disappointed with Outlander — rightfully so, I might add. A lack of historical accuracy in a film that showcases spacecraft and aliens? How unexpected! <br /><br />Second, Outlander is an action movie first and everything else second. This being the case, some laws of physics have been suspended in pursuit of entertainment. Anybody going into Outlander expecting to see a detailed, painstaking, recreation of real world physics or a seminar on the chemical properties of whale oil will be just as disappointed as the aforementioned history buffs (and, again, rightfully so).<br /><br />Outlander has never claimed to be a history text or a physics class and it (unsurprisingly) fails at being both of these things. Outlander is, on the other hand, an entertaining piece of action cinema. If the idea of Vikings fighting aliens sounds like fun to you, go see Outlander. If you're looking for a historical docudrama or recreation of Viking Age warfare, go see something else.