Cowboys and Aliens

Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Keith Carradine

Dir. John Favreau
Scr. Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby

This movie isn’t quite what I expected it to be. Sure, there are cowboys. And aliens. And there’s a fair amount of action, with enough bells and whistles to keep the blockbuster crowd happy. What I didn’t count on was how serious it was all going to be. Or how many stories of emotional connectedness between characters I was going to have to keep track of. I certainly did enjoy this film, just not nearly as much as I would have liked to.

Based on a graphic novel of the same name, Cowboys and Aliens is set in the 1870s in the Wild West. A stranger with no memory (Craig) finds himself in Absolution, a struggling town ruled by ex-colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford). Wounded and wearing a strange shackle on his wrist, he discovers he is wanted man Jake Lonergan and is swiftly arrested. Before he is shipped off to meet his fate, the town is attacked by flying objects, which abduct townsfolk using blinding lights and out-of-this-world rope, including the town’s sheriff (Carradine) and Dolarhyde’s son Percy (Dano). Bringing an end to the attack with the help of his mysterious shackle, Lonergan becomes Absolution’s only hope. A posse, led by Dolarhyde and Lonergan, set off to find the abductees and put an end to the terror reigning down on them. So ensues some quite nifty action sequences, some quite naff plot and a whole lot of aliens.

If you think this is all a recipe for much parody and belly laughs, you’d be mistaken. Cowboys and Aliens is serious business. When the humour is injected, it’s a welcome relief from the grave faces and hard looks. Don’t get me wrong – there is a lot to whisper “woah” at. The opening scene when Lonergan takes on three would-be bounty hunters is very cool and more violent than many in the audience seemed ready for. In fact most of Lonergan’s fight scenes are pretty darn cool. The initial attack at Absolution is loud and bright and terrifying. If you’re in the mood, there is also quite a bit to get emotional over. But, sadly, I wasn’t really in the mood.

I can’t really fault the acting on display here. Both Craig and Ford are brilliant, although I was disappointed by their lack of screen time together. Wilde, as the mysterious woman who knows just a little too much, is wide-eyed and appealing. There are some stand out performances in supporting roles, notably Sam Rockwell (wonderful as always) and Paul Dano (fast becoming a favourite). The aliens themselves are as unoriginal as they come. And the reason they’re attacking Earth? Well, I scoffed. Until I remembered this, at heart, is a Western. I still scoffed, just with a little less malice.

If you want to see a truly wonderful juxtaposition of the Wild West and all things spacey, watch Firefly or Serenity. If you want a couple of mind-numbing hours at the cinema, by all means see Cowboys and Aliens. Just don’t expect many laughs. Well, not many intentional ones anyway.

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Jake Lonergan: Demons took your gold. When you get to Hell, you can ask for it back.