Review of Cowboys & Aliens (2011) by Clarisesamuels — 09 Dec 2011

I confess I rented this DVD with low expectations. This was the summer blockbuster that couldn't get itself arrested, not by Doc, the Sheriff, or Colonel Dolarhyde. If it weren't for the international market, they would have never even covered their budget with the box office sales.

I remember Jay Leno asking Daniel Craig, "So what is Cowboys and Aliens about?" and the reply was, "It's about cowboys and aliens." That boy needs to have his interviews scripted. As soon as he's out there on the loose, he uses the f-word in every possible grammatical form--adjective, adverb, noun, gerund, and present participle.

I expected the real Daniel Craig to be difficult, abrupt, moody, passionate, ... but inarticulate? And he still won't tell the press how he pulled off that secret wedding. (Quote: "I'm not going to f---ing tell you.

") But does anyone really care? I don't. In any case, the wonder of it was that this was actually a good movie. There was tension, surprises, spectacular special effects, a love interest, and the bad guys were big, dumb aliens.

The title is slightly inaccurate--it's actually, Cowboys and Indians and Aliens. They couldn't have done it without a band of Native Americans fighting at their side. There's even a Message to the Film.

What will it take to unite the world and get everyone to stop fighting with each other? An invasion from outer space, of course. It works like a charm. Harrison Ford earned some critical demerits for looking perpetually grim, but it was in keeping with the character.

The little boy was a necessary cliche, but it was great to see him grow up in a flash. Even the dog was a good actor. And Paul Dano is a very un-Hollywood type actor and very talented. Daniel Craig as Jake Lonergan, a name which gives a hint about his character (something like Loner-again) is impressively effective as an American cowboy who is a force to be reckoned with.

He's certainly not Bond in this film, although he does have one fancy electronic gadget that he wears as a bracelet. Electronic gadgets didn't exist in the Wild West, so obviously he borrowed the trinket from a passing extraterrestrial, if only he could remember who.

He's forgotten who he is, which gets him into a lot of trouble, but Ella (Olivia Wilde), who looks too pale and wide-eyed to be human, is convinced he can recall everything if he just tries hard enough.

In the end, the film holds your attention, is entertaining, and has good actors.