Cowboys & Aliens
(2011)From director Jon Favreau (Iron Man), a sci-fi western with Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell. Adapted from the 2006 graphic novel of the same name. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg.... More
1873, Arizona, Old West USA. A stranger named Jake (Craig), with no memory of his past, stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a futuristic shackle shackling his wrist. He's 'aint welcome – a fact made clear by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford).
Dolarhyde runs his town by fear. But Absolution is about to experience alien terror as it's attacked by marauders from the sky: screaming down with blinding lights and abducting the helpless one by one. Of course it's Lonergan, the stranger the city rejected, that is their only hope – the gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and realises he holds a secret that could give these cowboys a chance. He enlists the help of an elusive traveller (Wilde) and a posse of townsfolk, outlaws and Apache warriors.Hide
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Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano
Written by Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Hawk Ostby (based on the graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Fred Van Lente, Andrew Foley)
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Cowboys & Aliens
BY adamatdramatrain superstar
... no wonder Harrison's so grumpy!Hide
BY Gerd superstar
Andrew Hedley obviously believes that holding on to the arty farty stile of the pony tailed guy of the late 70ths is important. Just don't believe him, go and see it!
BY Helen5 nobody
A movie that stays true to traditional west but this times aliens enter in to colonize. The ironic twist is met with some good old fashion male ego clashing and gun slinging.
BY bigspendakev superstar
If you go into this with low expectations you will be pleasantly suprised its awesome to see Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford as a bad guy its certainly a lot differnt to your usual movie fodder and a cool title to one to see
Showing 5 of 14 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
44%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
You want cowboys and aliens in the same movie? This one's for you. If you want anything beyond what the title promises, look elsewhere. And that means even anything resembling a clever mash-up of established genres. Full Review
Cowboys & Aliens has without any doubt the most cockamamie plot I've witnessed in many a moon. Full Review
Cowboys & Aliens is a frustrating film. Some individual scenes and set pieces are terrifically enjoyable, but that mash-up of genres won't allow one good solid story to develop. The western elements are too gimmicky, while the sci-fi yields nothing more than a pack of bad-guys. Full Review
A simple entertainment in a summer of overcomplicated disappointments. Also much harder-edged than you may have expected. Full Review
The key to its success lies in the determination by everyone involved to play the damn thing straight. Even the slightest goofiness, the tiniest touch of camp, and the whole thing would blow sky high. But it doesn't. Full Review
A leaden mash-up of western and science-fiction elements that ends up noisy, grotesque and unappealing. Full Review
Favreau wavers uncertainly between goofy pastiche and seriousness in a movie that wastes its title and misses the opportunity to play with, you know, ideas about the western and science-fiction horror. Full Review
Solid bordering on stolid. It’s Favreau in control again after Avengers advert Iron Man 2 - but given the possibilities, a mild, mild west. More horsing around and another set-piece or two might’ve helped. Full Review
While Cowboys & Aliens offers little in the way of sociological insight (except perhaps giving the white man a taste of his own resource-stealing medicine), it's still a ripping good ride. Full Review
BY Andrew Hedley Flicks Writer
Cowboys & Aliens is a genre mash-up that doesn’t offer any more than its high-concept alone. It’s all there in the title. That’s where the appeal begins and ends. What pads out the running time is not a gripping western, nor a thrilling sci-fi. It’s just a fairly ordinary, dull conglomeration of the two.... More
It would be nice to think that the western genre is back in the mainstream. 3:10 to Yuma made a case. But Cowboys references the Wild West in ways we've seen countless times before. Daniel Craig brings true grit to any role, so he’s great here as the grumpy man of mystery who leads the town against extraterrestrial invaders. Harrison Ford plays against type as the kind-of-bad guy, but his name and reputation as a veteran actor is all that he utilises. The aliens, in this case, are the highlight. They’re like other contemporary not-so-little green men in the movies – slimy and vicious yet with super-advanced technology – and their chest arms are a unique touch.
The movie’s directed by John Favreau but don’t expect the same tongue-in-cheek tone he brought to his two Iron Man vehicles. Cowboys & Aliens takes itself very seriously and the storyline progresses in the most routine way. Visual effects and explosions are all on form but I was bored quite early on in the piece and never really recovered from there.Hide
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