Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens
Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens (2011)
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde
Plot: A man wakes up in the middle of the desert with no memories of his life. On his arm, he has a metal wrist band. Upon making it to town, he discovers he’s a wanted criminal named Jake Lonergan (Craig) and is arrested. On the night he’s to be taken to the federal marshal’s office, the town is attacked by flying machines that kidnap several townsfolk. Now, Jake and the remaining townsfolk must track the aliens to save the people they’ve taken.
Based on the comic book from Platinum Studios (Men in Black), this flick is closer to the dark westerns of old (with a mix of some scary alien moments) than any kind of adventure flick. Don’t expect Indiana Jones meets Iron Man – this flick is dark, gritty, violent, and scary throughout. That doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining, but I would think twice before bringing someone under the age of 13 to this movie.
Overall I enjoyed the flick, although I was very much expecting something different when I sat down in that theater and the lights went down. A lot of critics have commented on the pacing of the movie – I thought the pacing was just fine. It’s paced more like a western movie than an action flick. Additionally the acting was on par with the performances I expected. It was fun to see Harrison Ford play a more villainous character than his other roles, and he does it well.
There are a few moments in the editing where I feel the movie falls a bit. A large action set piece at the end never really gives you the sense of scale of the battle, nor really an idea of how well the humans are doing against the almost invincible aliens. Additionally, there’s a scene where Craig gets strapped down to a table and 3 seconds later is standing and firing a rifle – a scene where both Beth and I looked at each other and said, “How the hell did that happen?”
The music is top notch in this flick. Harry Gregson-Williams does such an amazing job with the soundtrack in this movie. I really enjoyed the music throughout, and it really helps set the tone of the movie.
If you go to this movie expecting a call back to the dark westerns and scary alien movies, you’re going to enjoy it. If you’re expecting a fun adventure movie with quirky one-liners and fun characters – you’re going to be disappointed.
