Cowboys and Aliens

Viewed – 19 January 2016 Netflix

I haven’t a clue what’s taken me so long to get around to seeing this quirky-concept action adventure starring Daniel Craig as a mysterious stranger who wakes up in the wilderness with a strange device on his wrist. Soon he attracts the attention of local shady big shot Harrison Ford who’s trouble-making son gets into a spot of bother with Craig. Yet the two gunslinger’s problems are only just beginning when a race of aliens invade and begin abducting the locals.

It’s a solid idea and in the hands of Iron Man director John Favrau it’s fast and mostly fun, even if the pairing of the mumbling, serious Craig and the mumbling serious Ford grates a little (where’s the comedy side-kick?). Thankfully we do get the lovely, if bland Olivia Wild (Tron Legacy) on hand as a mysterious beauty who seems to know Craig’s character even though Craig himself has amnesia.

The aliens however are horribly typical fair and not interesting; their big plan to steal gold woefully under-explored. Yet the effects are decent, and with a great flying space crafts verses cowboys (and Indians) on horseback sequence, the action proved thrilling at times. We also get some enjoyable supporting characters including a wimpy bar tender played by Sam Rockwell. Yet for such a cool idea, I’d have liked this to be a bit more tongue in cheek, and could have done with better western-themed atmosphere other than the setting and failed to go anywhere I wasn’t expecting it to. Probably the reason the movie wasn’t all that talked about after it’s initial release.

Verdict: 2.5 /5

This is the time of year when many of my viewing habits are of movies I missed out on seeing the previous year. You can expect reviews of some of the summer blockbusters and lesser known releases of 2010, amongst new cinema releases. This is one reason why an end of year top ten usually comprises of movies older than that year. Something that has been of much deliberation to me lately considering that originally I had placed 21 Grams as my movie of the year, then thought better of it considering its age. Yet that means classic movies such as The Sound Of Music will never qualify. But you must have rules or else such an end of year list will have no comparison to other people’s end of year lists.

Anyway I digress. In the coming months there are many movies I am looking forward to seeing, be it at the cinema or more than likely on Blu-ray. Of the movies that have got me most excited, Zack Snyder’s ballistic looking Sucker Punch is much-anticipated. Scantily clad babes with guns & samurai swords in a fantasy action adventure? Where do I sign? Also David Fincher’s adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is one of those movie’s that just can’t fail – especially with Fincher at the helm. Wes Craven returns with the unexpected but no less appreciated Scream 4, a franchise I recall loving to bits, and hell, aren’t we in need of a clever-ass slasher movie after all the countless remakes we’ve endured? Consider my seat booked. It also has to be said, the Harrison Ford / Daniel Craig vehicle Cowboys and Aliens looks heaps of fun, and with Iron Man director John Favreau at the helm, all the ingredients are in place.

Movies I’m less looking forward to but could be worth seeing none the less are Cars 2, which knowing Pixar will be entertaining and look the biz, and this time with a secret agent storyline, may well be more interesting than the fish out of water plot previously. Having not seen the last Pirates movie, At Worlds End I wont be rushing to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides until I have got myself up to date – but the trailer does look like it will be great entertainment. Also Kung Fu Panda 2 is fairly assured entertainment even if it’ll be on the back burner compared to a few of the other big hitters. Oh and the idea of Transformers: Dark of the Moon fills me with dread after the mostly abysmal last movie, but then again the first Transformers in my opinion was superb, so it could go either way.

To conclude though, 2011 looks like being a great year for the movie industry with some great looking stuff coming our way. Colour me excited!!