Cowboys & Aliens (**½)
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell,
Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Noah Ringer, Adam Beach
Seen: August 20th 2011
**½
Out of ****
Waking up in the middle of the desert with only scant clothing, a
chunky metallic wristband and a wound in his side, Lonergan (Craig) doesn’t
know who he is or how he ended up here. He’s accosted by three less than
savoury riders, whom he brutally dispatches without a trouble: he’s a dangerous
man indeed. He pilfers the necessary shoes, clothing and a hat from the bodies,
and as he sets of, you can’t help but smile at the coolness of his demeanour as
the movie starts.
In town he’s confronted with preacher Meacham (Brown), assisting with
his wound; the obnoxious Percy (Dano), son of cattle baron Colonel Dolarhyde
(Ford); the mysterious Ella (Wilde), who sees in Lonergan what she herself is
looking for; and the town’s lawmen, under Sherriff Taggart (Carradine), who
recognises Lonergan as a wanted outlaw and arrests him. This is just the
beginning of things, as right before Lonergan’s transport coach out of town is
to leave, the town is attacked by something altogether different than they’d
ever thought possible, and numerous townsfolk are abducted, leaving Lonergan
and Colonel Dolarhyde as “leaders” of the posse to save the missing persons.
The group travels the wild west countryside, coming across bands of
thieves and more aliens as they come to grips with what they’re facing and with
what each main character in the group actually is. Dolarhyde gets to know his
son’s friend Nat (Beach) better, while Lonergan learns more of Ella’s past. Dolarhyde’s
humanity is shown in his partway and temporary adoption of the young Emmet (Ringer),
the Sherriff’s grandson. The group sees some strange destruction in a cruise
boat on its roof 500 miles from the nearest river, but in hindsight the viewer
realises that this set-piece doesn’t really fit in the bigger picture (very few
will even think this though).
The final confrontation, while well orchestrated, is disappointing compared
to the rest of this movie, maybe because application of an alien presence in a
western is a tricky or almost otherworldly thing at the very least. The movie
is at its strongest when the western elements are at the forefront, with the less
entertaining (though still enjoyable) moments being when the alien aspects are
prominent. The aliens are menacing creatures reminiscent of the ones in the Alien
movies, not aesthetically, but because of the protruding alien parts – this time
from their own chests, not those of humans.
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are both brilliant in their roles, disappearing
into their roles despite being very well known actors, while the supporting
cast all fit the bill perfectly. To combine genres in this way and this
successfully is quite an achievement, and for at least the first half of
Cowboys & Aliens director Jon Favreau makes a very good job of it. Too bad
it loses a bit of the fire and the cool during its second half. I remember
wondering how, with so much action going on, a movie can still be mildly boring
during the final alien base infiltration. But it’s not bad, as the movie is
great fun, delivering an exhilarating ride from start to finish that only
falters slightly as the end credits approach. Cowboys & Aliens is very cool,
quite fun, but ultimately somewhat forgettable.
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