Review of Cowboys & Aliens (2011) by Chubalub — 28 Jul 2011

I really want to write a review for this movie because of such mixed reception.

If you are able to just sit back, relax, and enjoy a film about Cowboys against Aliens, then you are certainly able to have a ton of fun watching this film. If you are a nosy critic who whines at every historical inaccuracy or takes a heavy sigh every time something doesn't appeal to an Oscar worthy taste, then this movie is DEFINITIVELY not for you. I for one, love adventure films and sci-fi films and a thought that Cowboys and Aliens blended the two together well. I had FUN, is what I'm saying. The battle scenes are plenty intense and the action heated up rather well towards the end. The characters in this picture, while thin, are still worth rooting for and each actor gives a solid performance.

A few people have complained about the aliens, saying that they weren't engaging or interesting enough. I thought that they were rather unique. They were large and intimidating, yet speedy and frightening. If they had given the aliens more intelligence or character, it would've made the movie drawn out and tiring. I believe that they way they had kept it was good enough for the audience. Really, the main problem that I had with the film is that the dialogue tends to fall flat throughout the script. In fact, the whole script could have used another solid draft before making the final cut. The writers clearly have not seen enough "real" westerns like "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "True Grit" to know how to make a truly engaging environment. PLEASE don't take my review as "It was big, loud and dumb but I had FUN so go see it!" There are WAY too many movies like that around nowadays. I also think that the critic reviews were low because of the Christian elements in this film. The pastor character in this film speaks his mind throughout his performance and gives a strong impression to the other characters. This alone is probably why so many critics didn't like the general character interaction within the film. . I seriously thought that this movie had good content and action to compile a great film. But PLEASE don't go into the theater expecting an Oscar worthy spectacle of Cowboys fighting Aliens. With this attitude, you will be disappointed. This is a great film. You just have to have the right attitude going in.