An old-school Western oater, "The Outsider" is a learn, mean and dark tale ruminating on revenge and redemption. It wears its B-movie production values and plot without apology, the sort of thing you'd see on late-night cable TV. But it's photographed beautifully, features some decent performances and has a sort of grimy appeal.
Trace Adkins plays Walker, the marshal of a small town who runs things through a combination of brutality and biblical strictness. Adkins will never be confused with a great actor, but playing a badass Old West lawman is as in his groove as it gets. The country music singer, who's tall as a mountain and has a voice as deep as a canyon, is solid presence as a man haunted by his wayward past.
That's personified by his son, James, played by Kaiwi Lyman in a chilling performance as a man who grew up revering his old man, then turned to hatred when he realized he'd never measured up. They have several face-offs that seem destined to end in violence between them, but somebody always backs off, until...
The titular presence is Jing Phang, a Chinese railway worker played by Jon Foo. He has a lovely marriage to Li (Nelli Tsay), and they lie in their tent at night, staring up at a makeshift mobile and dream about their big plans.
It's an obvious cue in an action movie whenever you someone starts wistfully looking away to the future -- meaning they won't have one. James decides that he has "yellow fever," so the junior marshal concocts a confrontation with Jing so he can throw him in jail and then prey upon his wife.
But -- and here's where the B-movie stuff comes in -- little did they know the humble Chinaman is also a martial arts expert!! Jing starts wading through cowboys, vowing it'll only end with James' life. Somehow one guy with fists and feet can take out dozens of men with rifles and shootig irons.
The x-factor is Chris King, a washed-up tracker played by Sean Patrick Flanery. The "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" star has creased up nicely with age, and here plays a man with his own haunted past. The screenplay by Sean Ryan doesn't provide a lot of details, notes rather than melodies. Chris carries around his daddy's old six-shooter with just a single cartridge loaded, which is supposed to signify... something.
The middle section is pretty much a straight-ahead action piece, as the various forces converge for a reckoning. Various other hombres wander in and out of the story, including Danny Trejo as the posse leader chasing Jing. He and Chris clash repeatedly.
We've seen this kind of stuff before -- shootists fronting and taking each other's measure, demanding more money for a job, etc. We know where it's all going to go, but it's fairly entertaining along the way.
Director Timothy Woodward Jr. shoots with an eye for shadows and light. "The Outsider" is thin on story but long on mood, a dreary restlessness helped by Samuel Joseph Smythe's musical score.
Its biggest weakness is playing shorthand with the characterizations, particularly Jing. The title character needs to have more backstory and emotional depth. But outside of his briefly glimpsed marriage, he's relegated to a standard-issue chop-socky movie figure.
The whole doesn't really add up, but there are still some nice pieces in "The Outsider."