Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Western
Release Date: July 29, 2011
My Rating:
(Click here for more info on my rating scale)
Moviegoers who go to see “Cowboys & Aliens” get just what they expect: cowboys and aliens. It is weird, dorky, ridiculous, stupid, and noisy, and it’s kind of fun. It has just about every cinematic cliché possible, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as the filmmakers know what they’re doing. The plot of this film is pretty much just a thin cable onto which the movie’s crazy action sequences and other set pieces are attached, but it’s not bad. Roger Ebert describes it as "the most cockamamie plot I've witnessed in many a moon.” But he still thought it was okay, and I agree with him. The director of Iron Man has brought us more high-action entertainment. We’ve all seen cowboy movies, western movies, and alien movies, but all of them together? Jon Favreau has taken a typical aliens-taking-over-the-world premise and set it back in 1873 in Arizona Territory, in the Old West. How often do we have some thing like that?
The film is well cast, especially the two lead roles. Daniel Craig plays Jake Lonergan, a stranger who wakes up in the middle of the desert with amnesia, and a weird bracelet which he can’t get off. He heads to a nearby western town that doesn’t welcome strangers. It’s a town that lives in fear, but they’re soon going to experience fear. You’ve guessed it: aliens (and yes, they have spaceships)! This is where the film really starts to get interesting: the initial attack of the aliens, a noisy scene of nonstop action, laser beams, explosions, kidnappings, and soon a special power bracelet, worn by Jake, which takes down a spaceship. It’s also by this time that we have our second lead character in the film: Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). This shooting-down turns the story into a search for the aliens and the kidnapped victims. Along the way, we get more loud action full of special effects. There’s even a sexy woman in the movie.
The film is well cast, especially the two lead roles. Daniel Craig plays Jake Lonergan, a stranger who wakes up in the middle of the desert with amnesia, and a weird bracelet which he can’t get off. He heads to a nearby western town that doesn’t welcome strangers. It’s a town that lives in fear, but they’re soon going to experience fear. You’ve guessed it: aliens (and yes, they have spaceships)! This is where the film really starts to get interesting: the initial attack of the aliens, a noisy scene of nonstop action, laser beams, explosions, kidnappings, and soon a special power bracelet, worn by Jake, which takes down a spaceship. It’s also by this time that we have our second lead character in the film: Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). This shooting-down turns the story into a search for the aliens and the kidnapped victims. Along the way, we get more loud action full of special effects. There’s even a sexy woman in the movie.
I would certainly not put this movie on or near the top of my must-watch list. It’s a fun summer-action film. It’s more of a one-time viewing type of film, unlike “Ghostbusters”, which never gets old. It has weird subject matter, and a fair amount of humor, and most of the movie is between the points of taking the subject matter seriously and not taking it seriously. But in those parts when it’s serious, it’s handeled well, and overall, although the movie is dorky, the humor is never allowed to outshine the seriousness. I also think the cast is pretty good. I did notice that, what I think is the first time since “Star Wars”, Harrison Ford is not the lead actor, or even best part of the movie. He shares the floor with his slightly-more-than-equal star partner Daniel Craig. Although, it was nice to see him again, and he still shares part of the film’s good aspects. So, if you have some spare time on your hands and you’re in the mood for some loud, explosive, wacky entertainment, go see this film.
Note: If there is one thing about the film I would really change, it’s the sound. Movie theaters definitely play their movies louder than before, and a lot of the action sequences in this film were way too loud. I was actually covering my right ear during a good portion of some of the action sequences.
Note: If there is one thing about the film I would really change, it’s the sound. Movie theaters definitely play their movies louder than before, and a lot of the action sequences in this film were way too loud. I was actually covering my right ear during a good portion of some of the action sequences.
Cast and Credits:
Jake Lonergan: Daniel Craig
Woodrow Dolarhyde: Harrison Ford
Ella Swenson: Olivia Wilde
Doc: Sam Rockwell
Alice: Abigail Spencer
Wes Claiborne: Buck Taylor
Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, and Reliance Entertainment present
A film directed by Jon Favreau
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Running Time: 118 min.
No comments:
Post a Comment