I reckon there isn't much guesswork involved when you want to know what you're getting into with a movie called "Cowboys and Aliens." For a title that doesn't conceal any secrets, it had better contain at least those two things, and hopefully a great deal more to make the film better than the premise. Well, cowboys and aliens are certainly here, and even some Indians for good measure. That all seems like it would be good ingredients for a conceptual playground of clever set-ups and ideas. Yet, while it absolutely delivers the product on the label, "Cowboys and Aliens" is a relatively benign summer movie experience that falls short of what it possibly could have been.
Jon Favreau is no stranger to the sci-fi genre. While his "Zathura" was unseen by me, "Iron Man" and its sequel had plenty high-tech wizardry along with well-developed characters and an energy that gave a nod and a wink to the audience. Strange then, that the aliens here are the least interesting element of what seemed like a fun blend of two iconic genres. Maybe I was expecting something a bit closer in tone to "Wild, Wild West;" not that that is a good movie, but when you have cowboys going up against intergalactic visitors, it feels like a miscalculation to take it so seriously. Especially when the aliens aren't all that menacing, it's hard for the audience to ever feel a real sense of danger. A more light-hearted approach might have been an easier way to convey a story this absurd.
The plot involves a good deal of tried and true western cliches. A mysterious stranger named Lonergan (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the desert wearing what appears to be an alien handcuff. He dispatches the grisly old geezers who wander upon him and steals the necessaries to ride into the nearest town. Here he will encounter civil unrest, a drunken bafoon (Paul Dano) shooting up the town, a kindly Preacher (Clancy Brown), a mysterious dame (Olivia Wilde) who knows more than she lets on, and a seemingly corrupt baron of some sort named Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Yes, Dolarhyde. There is even a town 'Doc' played by Sam Rockwell in the movie's best performance. It certainly feels as though a great deal of the drawing power for the film was the casting; its just a shame to see Harrison Ford in yet another crusty old curmudgeon role. Perhaps the studios around Hollywood can't find much to do with him. It's almost like watching your favorite grandparent forced into playing bingo at a low-rent nursing home.
Everyone else does a fine job of bringing to life a surprising authenticity of the old west. Indeed, the straight-faced western portion of "Cowboys and Aliens" is engaging in a way that indicates Jon Favreau may have been more interested in the characters and setting. It's when the aliens fly into town that the movie rapidly descends into an uninspired mess of cliches. The story raises many questions in the opening act. Where did Lonergan come from? What is that thing on his wrist? Just who is the mysterious dame Ella? What do the aliens want exactly? The questions are a great deal more interesting than the answers. Each revelation has a near laughable origin, or barely even receives an explanation. For instance, when we finally find out who Ella is, rather than expand on what is probably an intriguing past, the script provides her with a throwaway explanation about being a visitor. Well duh.
As for the aliens, they've flown perhaps millions of miles to earth to act like simple miners. One might wonder what they need a precious metal for when they have the technology to travel through galaxies, but never mind. "Cowboys and Aliens" is far more interested in providing spectacle than story. It all looks quite good, mind you, but it provides nothing that audiences don't frequently already see. The action climax is a well-choreographed set piece with cowboys and indians hollering, slinging arrows, throwing fists and shooting a great deal; just not at each other. I don't know if the screenwriters (there are five) were trying to play it safe by teaming up the cowboys and indians or if they were trying to express a metaphor by featuring alien enemies, but whatever the intention, it is lost among the plot contrivances and tired cliches.
"Cowboys and Aliens" probably looked promising on paper, and you can't blame Jon Favreau for trying to bring stylistic flare to the marriage of two common genres. Yet, while Daniel Craig brings gravitas to the cowboy role and there is a respect to the western elements that is nostalgic, too many undeveloped characters and plot points can't save the movie from being instantly forgettable. I'd be curious to see some version of this movie that has its guns loaded. Perhaps Jon Favreau should be allowed a re-shoot that cuts out those pesky aliens and has Harrison Ford playing the role of the Preacher or Doc. Come to think of it, if there was a two hour sequence of James Bond and Indiana Jones staring each other down in a sun-bathed dusty town, that would be worth the price of admission alone. But I wouldn't want to lose a bet on who wins the draw.
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