Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens is a hodgepodge of old west and science fiction elements, a combination that doesn’t sit well with audiences. With a title that suggests imagination, creativeness, and action packed fun, this film disappoints on almost every level.  The plot is farfetched and comical yet still better than many comic book movies that have hit the box office lately. After removing the Indians from the classic equation, what could be a better replacement than gold greedy aliens that used humans as guinea pigs? I would think “anything”.

Directed by Iron Man director Jon Favreau, Cowboys and Aliens follows a pretty standard blockbuster plot with pretty standard special effects. There’s a little bit of mystery, love, action, and suspense but nothing to write home about. The plot goes a little something like this, Daniel Craig, our main cowboy, wakes up in the desert with a mean case of amnesia and a mystery metal bracelet. He immediately has to prove his bad ass ness by killing three guys before the credits even roll in. His travels lead him to a town where he gets into a little bit of trouble with the law and ends up witnessing the kidnapping of the towns people by the alien space ships. During this kidnapping he discovers that the mystery bracelet is some kind of weapon against the aliens. From this point on, he teams up with some friends ( a lovely cameo by Harrison Ford) and his new gal pal (Olivia Wilde) in search of the kidnapped people and the alien colony. The remainder of the film is nothing new to the silver screen, including the ending. It consists of some explanation, alien / human love interests, futuristic planets, and old west style action.

The acting from Wilde, Craig, and Ford seemed misplaced but made the film a little more viewable. The rusty Harrison Ford fit right in with the western time period, maintaining his bad ass, “don’t mess with me”, adventurous type. Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde create a believable on screen chemistry that helps keep the audience intrigued through out the many twists that are thrown at them. Their characters lack the proper development but in these kinds of films, we cant be too picky. The aliens are unfortunately as stereotypical as they get. They are large, bug eyed, greedy blobs that resemble just about every other alien in every other movie. They are both repulsive and intelligent and they had the potential to be much more if the thirst for creativity was there.

Overall, the film gives a really good sense of the time period through the production design and has surprisingly good acting but lacks on just about every other level. It might just be one of those stories that look good in comics but to be truthful it should stay off the big screen.