Written By: Kameron Henry
In the past couple of years, my appreciation for Jared Leto has gone up and down. I loved him in Dallas Buyers Club, Blade Runner 2049, and American Psycho. Unfortunately, he lost some major points in my eyes for Joker in Suicide Squad. Leto’s is coming back into my favorites with this new movie The Outsider.
We begin the movie with Nick Howell (Jared Leto), a American soldier trapped inside of a Chinese prison. There, we meet Kiyoshi (Tadanobu Asano) who, with Nick’s assistance, can get both of them out. After helping Kiyoshi get out of prison, a couple of days pass and we see Nick released from prison. We soon discover their escapes were aided by Kiyoshi’s connection to the Yakuza.
However, these prison breaks weren’t free. The way the Yakuza deals with debts is working for them for a short time. After completing a task for them Kiyoshi has a proposition for Nick. Since Nick has nothing left for him, Kiyoshi decides to extend a help hand by asking him if he wants to join the Yakuza. Orochi (Kippei Shiina), a 2nd in command for the Yakuza, thinks this is a terrible idea. His reasoning being is because Howell is an outsider, so he believes they can’t trust him. Even with this doubt, they allow Nick to join. While Nick is joining, some eyes begin looking towards him. Miyu (Shiori Kutsuna), Kiyoshi’s little sister begins to have feelings for Nick.
For this movie being an Netflix original film, it wasn’t that bad. Comparatively, The Outsider actually had a great plot, conflict, and resolution. This movie has gave me the old Jared Leto that I know and love. I’ll give this movie a eight out of ten stars.
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