“Outland” is a terrific sci-fi that creates a very believable futuristic world. The film’s style reminded me so much of the first “Alien” movie that this movie could practically take place in the same universe.

Set on a mining colony of the Jupiter moon of Io, “Outland” follows a tough police marshal by the name of William T. O’Niel (Sean Connery “Goldfinger”, “Highlander”). Many of the workers on the mining colony are dying but nobody seems all that interested in investigating and they seem to actively discourage the efforts of O’Niel. When he uncovers a drug smuggling operation, he sticks to his principles and refuses to be bought or bullied into turning a blind eye.

Sean Connery is great as O’Niel. We have seen Connery play the sophisticated spy in the “James Bond” films but here we see him master the role of a tough cop. He seems perfect for the role and I cannot imagine anybody else being as good in the role. Peter Boyle (“While You Were Sleeping”, “Young Frankenstein”) plays the man in charge of the mining colony and he does not take kindly to O’Niel snooping around. He is okay but I think the character could have been made a little more interesting.

“Outland” is a really gritty piece of science-fiction and I loved almost every minute of it. There is a fantastic chase scene in the middle of the film where Connery pursues a suspect and I was on the edge of my seat. The film seemed to go under the radar and that is genuine shame because this is a great film that I think a lot more people should see. The sets are incredible, Connery is brilliant as the hero and there are some truly tense moments here. If you have seen “Alien”, “Total Recall”, “Soylent Green” and “The Abyss”, you need to check out “Outland”.