In case you ever wondered what happened to the career of Hayden Christiansen post STAR WARS prequels, this film's a good place to check. OUTCAST is a B-movie piece of trash and international co-production between about a zillion different countries; eventually it settles in China (it was shot in Beijing) and sees some former Crusaders teaming up to bring down a Chinese warlord. Christiansen still wears a single expression for the entire movie, but perhaps a slumming-it Nicolas Cage is even worse; thankfully he's not around much here. Andy On gets to show off his kung fu skills as the baddie, but he deserves better.

In the 12th century, Gallain (Nicolas Cage) and Jacob (Hayden Christensen) are Christian crusaders in the Middle East. Gallain is obligated to protect Jacob as a debt to his father. Three years later in the Far East, Jacob has become disillusioned with killing and addicted to opium. The dying emperor appoints 14 year old Prince Zhao to be his successor over his older warrior brother Prince Shing. He sends Zhao and the Imperial Seal away with his older sister Princess Lian (Liu Yifei) as his guardian. Shing kills his father and lays the blame on Zhao. The Black Guards hunts for Zhao and the Imperial Seal.

Hayden's acting is still wooden. The role has lots of juicy aspects but he's unable to do anything with it. The character is also bad writing. In one moment, he's an addict unable to function and the next, he's a superhero warrior. The story is rather simple. At first, I was wondering where Nicolas Cage went. Sadly, he comes back. If Hayden is wooden, Nicolas is doing mildly weird. His presence screams B-movie nowadays and this movie doesn't improve his batting average. The general story is generic and the rest is mostly flat.

Jacob (Hayden Christensen) and Glenn (Nicolas Cage) are 12th century crusaders fighting in an unnamed city. Jacob can go into a beserker mode when he says, "God wills it" or when someone else says, "Kill him." Glenn is regretful about the crusades and opts to go East.

The film then opens up in the East with some palace intrigue and a plot evolving like "Star Wars" where a princess and her brother flee from the Black Guards. They find assistance in Jacob, an opium addict, who still has his beserker mode working.

The film is formulaic as you know exactly what the final fight will be. Cage haters can add this to their list of bad performances, one I would say was worse than "Left Behind." WOW! What was that accent supposed to be? Hayden Christenson started out with a strong accent and ended the film without one.

Will work as a second tier rental.

Guide: F-bomb near end. No sex or nudity