In the late 70's and early 80's the outer space genre was HUGE. That's thanks to Star Wars, and other hits like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Close Encounters and Alien. So studios and producers mined the properties they had to create new sci-fi stuff to satisfy the audiences appetites. The past was plundered with Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and The Thing all retooled for the modern ages and other genre stories were reimagined to become science fiction films. The disaster movie was reborn as Meteor, the Bond movie was reborn in Moonraker and the western The Magnificent Seven was reborn as Battle Beyond The Stars. Another western that got the outer space remake treatment was High Noon in 1981's Outland.
The events of the classic western are transferred to Io, one of Jupiter's moons, where humanity has placed a mining township. When the new Security Marshall uncovers widespread corporate corruption and drug abuse which is claiming the lives of the miners, Connery has to take on the hired guns sent to kill him, arriving on the next shuttle (which replaced the western's train).
Directed with his usual style by Peter (2010) Hyams, it's a slow-burn, adult thriller with some great production design, solid effects (from the team that brought you Alien) and Stephen Goldblatt's slick photography and a low key Goldsmith score. The film is arguably a little too 'low-key' for it's own good with little in the way of exhilarating action scenes or grand emotional outbursts; it's tough guys doin' tough things. But the casting of Connery is the films best asset; he's got the physicality, screen presence and attitude that makes you believe that he'll beat the odds and survive, yet he displays a vulnerability that makes you think that even James Bond himself could lose this fight.
I like this more and more every time I see it, but it's unfortunately largely dismissed as it was a huge flop on it's original release. Shame.
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