Film Review: Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Unfortunately the on-screen pairing of James Bond and Han Solo/Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. is merely mediocre, at best.  Nonetheless, Cowboys & Aliens (2011) is hard to dislike with such a solid cast led by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.  Despite its inability to effectively and smoothly mesh the Western and science-fiction genres, the film is decent as far as summer entertainment goes.  Still, you would expect more out of the intriguing concept and filmmaking pedigree.  Sadly, the movie fails to have many or frankly any real “wow” moments.  Although Cowboys & Aliens will disappoint or frustrate Western film gurus and sci-fi geeks with its uneven pace and weak handling of their favorite genres, it is a serviceable, albeit more bland than exciting, action-flick fit for a summer matinee showing at most.

The plot is rather simple and straightforward: In 1873 Arizona, a man wakes up in the middle of the desert not knowing his name, how he got there or why he has a sizeable torso wound and a metal bracelet attached to his wrist.  He ventures to a nearby town that is virtually ruled by the unforgiving cattle baron “Colonel” Woodrow Dolarhyde.  There he gets in a scuffle with Dolarhyde’s son but soon discovers his name, Jake Lonergan, and that he is a wanted man for several charges including robbery and murder.  However, his past troubles increase exponentially when alien spaceships lasso in and carry away numerous natives during an attack on the small former gold-rush town.  Amidst the fight, Jake’s bracelet turns out to be a deadly weapon, which takes down one of the spaceships.  Following the assault and the utility of Lonergan’s bracelet, Dolarhyde recruits Jake to join his posse in search of their kin and to kill the “demons.”

While you would think and hope that such a genre mash-up would create riveting showdowns and awesome alien mayhem, Cowboys & Aliens features neither.  Sure it is competently made and has some heart-pumping action and a short moment of sincere emotion, but it never quite thrills or engages the viewer enough to produce sheer excitement or genuine sympathy for the characters.  Perhaps because the movie attempts to balance the two genres it fails to satisfy the requirements of either one to stimulate the viewer.  In other words, the film neglects the best elements of the genres or at least fails in combining them properly into one stream of consciousness.  Furthermore, the shift in tone from atmospheric, character-driven Western style to all-out sci-fi action can be jarring.  Even though the movie lacks memorable action sequences and cuts character development short, it is still a fairly enjoyable movie, so long as you suspend disbelief before buying the admission ticket.

The great cast barely saves the film from being a total waste of time.  In fact, they are an integral part of why audiences may enjoy the movie.  Daniel Craig is superb as always, this time playing the Western loner Jake Lonergan.  Harrison Ford, who hasn’t made a great film or performance in arguably over a decade, shows off some of his former glory as the seemingly callous Woodrow Dolarhyde; hopefully this marks a turning point and a return to form for him.  Olivia Wilde flaunts her sexy, mysterious greenish-blue eyes and nature but doesn’t have a lot to work with as Ella Swenson, an enigmatic woman who begs Jake for help in tracking down the aliens.  Sam Rockwell also lends his acting prowess to a role that has little room to develop, but he too does a fine job at filling it as the meek local bartender and physician Doc.  Paul Dano seems to be a regular in Westerns over the past couple years, but here he takes a somewhat back seat for most of the movie as the rowdy, immature Percy Dolarhyde.  Adam Beach plays part-Indian Nat Colorado, one of Dolarhyde’s trusted men and pseudo-son; he is merely okay, typically over-acting a bit and relegated to supporting roles or B-movie schlock.  Several minor roles and cameos are filled by talented actors Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Walter Goggins and David O’Hara as Preacher Meacham, Sheriff John Taggart, Hunt, and Pat Dolan, respectively.  All around, the cast members, who may bring forth a few “there’s that guy!” moments, help to salvage the film, guard it against absolute criticism, and make it somewhat fun.

Actor-turned-director Jon Favreau has created a competent summer blockbuster but is unable to reach blockbuster-level excitement with this movie.  After Iron Man (2008), Favreau seemed like a new director to be reckoned with, but alas Cowboys & Aliens is less like that film and more like its largely bland sequel/Avengers-setup Iron Man 2 (2010).  In addition to Favreau’s jagged transitions, the fact that the film had eight (yes 8) writers is cause for alarm.  Even Lost writer Damon Lindelof could not save the screenplay from mediocrity or lifelessness; Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman seem to have a firm grip on sci-fi flicks nowadays with the Transformers series and Star Trek (2009) reboot but their writing here is more like the former than the latter, which is definitely not a compliment.  Composer Harry Gregson-Williams’s score is mostly forgettable but fine throughout the movie.  Gifted director of photography Matthew Libatique lends a steady hand on the project with dependably detailed cinematography.  The filmmakers launch the film with a solid beginning but it quickly descends into chaotic mediocrity and drags for a long amount of time before its special effects-driven climax.

In all, Cowboys & Aliens is disappointing but still entertaining thanks to a solid cast.  It certainly won’t be the film that people look back on as the one that revived the Western genre, if it does indeed catch on again as it ought to, nor has it made a particularly strong case for genre mash-ups. As a Western it is dried-up, and as a sci-fi alien invasion flick it is less-than-dazzling.  Nonetheless, seeing two screen legends, one still in the making (Craig) and one well-established (Ford), together is pretty fun and enjoyable.  Then again, don’t think for one second that the film isn’t severely serious, as it lacks humor.  Hopefully these actors and filmmakers simply wanted to throw together a summer blockbuster for profit and that Hollywood has much better productions to make, or else moviegoers are in for more uninspiring big-budget movies and a continued decline in originality; you may as well become accustomed to mediocre summer flicks, that is until 2012’s amazing slate of promising blockbusters.  See this movie only at a discounted or matinee price if you have two hours to kill, just don’t expect much and you’ll be rewarded with solid performances in a fairly entertaining, albeit mindless, soulless, and largely forgettable, action-flick; otherwise wait until its available for rental/download or even appears on cable TV.

Cowboys & Aliens – 6/10

 

 

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