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.
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.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
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.
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.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
i thought this movie was realy cool!! lots of action and suspence and they DID make it clear what the aliens were doing on earth, bukster obviously wasnt paying attention and who on earth can resist daniel craig!?
They want our gold those alien b**tards, but Daniel Craig will stop them using his wrist laser bomb! Ah, by the way, Daniel Craig doesn't fear a gun pointed to his head from a crazy maniac, because he is so cool! Rubbish!
Monsters v Aliens was more believable... it had more three-dimensional characters too and better acting and script... Still, one bIG star for Harrison Ford being grumpy! Honestly, watch Harrison in STAR WARS (all three); INDIANNA JONES (all four), BLADE RUNNER, THE FUGITIVE and MORNING GLORY - heck EVERY FILM he ever did! The guy has three expressions: perplexed, bemused, annoyed. Love him. He's this generation's John Wayne. Other than Ford? This is popcorn production at its worst - predictable and dull as TRANSFORMERS 2 or 3. If you liked those - you'll love this. As uninspired as IRON MAN 2 and even less fun. Shame. The comic books were fun and the title rocks. But alas, what promised to be a fun movie on the lines of INDEPENDENCE DAY IN THE WILD WEST turns into THE WILD WILD WEST - and I wouldn't wish that on anyone! ... no wonder Harrison's so grumpy!
Refund !
Overall this movie was fun. It could have used more appearances by the aliens. They didn't show up nearly often enough. What the aliens were doing on Earth was never made clear. They just seemed to like coming to this planet in hi-tech spacecraft to shoot up small towns and kidnap people. I would think that if aliens do exist and have the technology to get here, they might be able to think of something more constructive than what they were doing in this film.
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.
Cowboys & Aliens has without any doubt the most cockamamie plot I've witnessed in many a moon.
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.
A simple entertainment in a summer of overcomplicated disappointments. Also much harder-edged than you may have expected.
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.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 11th Aug 2011.
Release date: August 11th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
