Back in 1971, Diamonds Are Forever represented Sean Connery’s final appearance as 007 in an official Bond flick. In between 1971 and 1983’s “unauthorized” Never Say Never Again, Connery tried desperately to escape the shadow of the role that made him famous.

This didn’t really work, and I don’t think Connery finally really broadened past Bond until his Oscar-winning turn in 1987’s Untouchables and People magazine’s famous 1989 decision to anoint him as the “Sexiest Man Alive”. With 1981’s sci-fi thriller Outland, we find one of Connery’s many unsuccessful attempts to lose 007 in that span.

A titanium-mining outpost exists on Jupiter’s moon Io. To sustain the peace among the workers, the Con Am corporation involves federal marshals, and William T. O'Neil (Connery) gets assigned there for a one-year tour of duty.

Along the way, O’Neil discovers an illegal drug ring, one that seems to increase worker productivity but also kills some of them. O’Neil investigates and encounters danger when the culprits put a target on his back.

Although I alluded to Connery’s struggles to shed his image as James Bond across most of the 1970s and 1980s, that doesn’t mean he enjoyed no success. However, his most popular efforts came in supporting parts.

Connery did star in well-received flicks such as 1975’s The Man Who Would Be King and 1976’s Robin and Marian. However, these films failed to turn into financial hits.

And Outland didn’t break that streak. Indeed, I don’t think Connery played a lead in a box office smash until 1990’s The Hunt for Red October, and even there he shared top honors with Alec Baldwin.

A grim sci-fi thriller in an era primed for that kind of tale, Outland seemed like a candidate to become a hit. However, it pulled in a mediocre $17 million, a figure that placed it in 44th place at the US box office between forgotten flicks Take This Job and Shove It and The Devil and Max Devlin.

Would anyone still recall Outland without the involvement of Connery? Maybe, though I think this seems less likely because the movie does little to stand out from its genre crowd.

Above all else, Outland demonstrates the massive influence of 1979’s seminal Alien. Indeed, I get the impression writer/director Peter Hyams wants the audience to see the similarities given how blatant he makes them.

This occurs from the literal start, as the style and music of the opening credits obviously steal from Alien. Hyams makes this so close to the work in the 1979 classic that it feels startling.

The connections don’t end when the movie proper starts. Outland introduces the locations and situations in a way that strongly evokes Alien.

Jerry Goldsmith self-plagiarizes his Alien score for Outland. We also get production design that resembles the grimy world of Alien as well as its “truckers in space” aesthetic.

Look, all movies demonstrate influences of some sort. Nonetheless, the manner to which Hyams steals from Alien becomes utterly shameless.

Would I mind this plagiarism so much if Hyams created a tense and dynamic thriller? Of course not – the outright theft would still irk me, but I’d find it more forgivable if I thought Outland delivered a quality project.

Unfortunately, Outland lands with a thud. Despite some desperate efforts from Hyams, the movie barely shows a pulse.

Oh, Outland comes with the right components to form into a taut adventure. While the plot doesn’t seem special, the manner in which it pits O’Neil against a mix of foes brings potential drama.

Hyams just never finds a way to capitalize. The characters remain thin and the plot meanders as it heads toward an inevitable violent climax.

All of this hearkens back to Westerns, with the sci-fi elements and outer space setting simply an attempt to add some spice to the genre. The story of the single man who tries to stand up against superior forces holds up fine.

But Hyams simply can’t make it dynamic or compelling. The tale bobs along from one predictable sequence to another and doesn’t muster thrills or excitement.

I get the feeling Hyams hopes audiences will find themselves so dazzled with the sci-fi trappings that they wouldn’t sense their boredom. I noticed, though, and I thought Outland ended up as a lazy dud.

Weird discrepancy: parts of Outland call the character “O’Neil” and others refer to him as “O’Niel”. Even though the latter dominated, I went with “O’Neil” because it appeared on the name tag Connery wore and it just makes no sense.

“O’Neil” offers the standard spelling for that surname. I suspect the sporadic instances of “O’Niel” here exist as a typo no one fixed.

Outland appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a pretty solid Dolby Vision image for a movie from 1981.

Definition was positive. Occasional soft shots materialized in wider elements but the majority of the flick showed good clarity.

No issues with shimmering or jaggies materialized, and grain seemed light but natural. I saw no edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

Colors appeared largely appealing. The movie tended toward a low-key palette, and the disc replicated those with good accuracy, with a moderate boost from HDR.

Blacks were reasonably dark, while low-light shots demonstrated appropriate clarity. HDR benefited whites and contrast. This became a solid “B+” image.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 remix, the material mainly hewed to the front speakers. In that spectrum, I heard appealing stereo separation and imaging for the music.

Effects offered some involvement as well, especially during action scenes. These kicked to life in the forward channels to create a bit of engagement.

Surround usage felt limited – so limited that I occasionally wondered if the track used them at all. When I switched to the included theatrical stereo mix, this confirmed that the back channels did provide some material.

However, those domains remained subdued. Any audio from the rear remained modest and existed simply to reinforce the front.

Audio quality was dated but good. Dialogue occasionally displayed some mild edginess, but speech usually seemed reasonably natural and distinct.

Effects demonstrated some minor distortion at times, but those elements sounded acceptably clean and accurate. Music also seemed pretty positive, as the score appeared fairly full. This became a more than competent remix.

As we shift to extras, we find two separate audio commentaries, the first of which comes from writer/director Peter Hyams. He offers a running, screen-specific look at the project’s roots and influences, story and characters, casting and performances, photography and editing, music, sets and production design, and various effects.

Overall, Hyams produces a moderately informative chat but not one that really excels. While he gives us a collection of production notes, I don’t think the track digs deep enough to become genuinely memorable, especially since Hyams fades during the movie’s second.

For the second commentary, we hear from critic Chris Alexander. He provides his own running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, genre domains and influences, cast and crew, production topics and his thoughts about the movie.

At the start, Alexander tells us he won’t work from a prepared script for his commentary. That made me concerned he’d wing it and provide a rambling track.

While he may well make up the chat as he goes, Alexander avoids meandering nonsense. That comes as a positive.

However, Alexander also leans more toward appreciation of the film than much else. While he does offer notes about cast, crew and the production, a lot of the discussion sticks with his positive view of the flick.

Sometimes when I listen to discussions of movies I don’t like, I gain a better understanding of why others enjoy those films. Alexander talks about why he loves Outland but he doesn’t really deliver a case that will change minds.

Or at least not this mind. Ultimately, Alexander provides a genial fan chat with some nuggets of info along the way.

Featurettes follow, and A Corridor of Accidents spans 52 minutes, eight seconds. It provides more from Hyams.

The filmmaker discusses his life and career as well as aspects of the Outland production. Despite some inevitable repetition, Hyams' walk through his overall time in movies adds value.

Stephen Goldblatt Remembers occupies 29 minutes, one second. We hear from the movie's cinematographer this time, though we also get archival details from visual effects supervisor William Mesa and Introvision president Tom Naud.

As expected, Goldblatt primarily discusses the movie's photography along with what got him into films and aspects of his career. Mesa and add material about the "Introvision" process used on the movie. All this adds up to a good look behind the scenes.

Next comes The Introvision Files. During this 34-minute, five-second interview, we locate remarks from visual effects supervisor William Mesa.

He tells us about his career as a photographer and how he got into movies as well as his use of the "Introvision" compositing process. Mesa covers a lot of intriguing technical areas.

No Place for Heroes lasts 18 minutes, 22 seconds. It delivers comments from film scholar Josh Nelson.

Billed as "an appreciation", Nelson discusses how Outland reflects the Western genre along with influences and other notes. Nelson avoids the basic praise implied by "appreciation" and gives us a pretty good take on the film.

Via Hollywood Outland, we find a 21-minute, 22-second reel. This piece features film historian Howard S. Berger.

Credited as a "visual essay", Berger looks at Hyam's career and work plus his reflections on how Outland fits the director's career. Berger offers useful info.

In addition to two trailers, the disc concludes with an Image Gallery that provides 158 screens of movie moments, behind the scenes shots, publicity photos and ads. While an ample compilation, the elements largely seem forgettable.

I could forgive Outland the myriad ways it steals from Alien if it offered a fraction of that classic’s entertainment value. Unfortunately, it creates a dull and tedious mix of Western and thriller that never really goes anywhere. The 4K UHD offers pretty positive picture and audio along with a reasonable roster of supplements. Outland ends up as a forgettable project.