When I first heard about Cowboys & Aliens I thought it was a ridiculous idea. Had the writers run out of things to write about? I’m not sure if I could come with another ridiculous idea other than Cowboys & Aliens. After seeing the movie though, I was totally shocked at how good it was.
The story follows Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) waking up in the middle of the desert and not remembering anything. The only thing he has on him is an odd iron bracelet and a picture of a lady in the dirt next to him. Now we follow Jake’s quest to find out what in the world is going on. You didn’t really expect me to tell you the whole story right? That’s the point of watching a movie!
The one thing I will tell you about this movie is that it is one worth watching. I was expecting the movie to be as cheesy as possible and going all over the place with the story. Boy was I wrong about that assumption. The best way I can describe this movie is that it’s a western, there just happen to be some aliens in it. The film literally had all the elements you would expect in a western: the large vistas of the American west, gun slinging, Stetson wearing cowboys, conflicts with Native Americans and large horse rides across the landscape. All you need to do is add some aliens that are up to some nefarious shenanigans into the mix and you have Cowboys & Aliens.
The casting Cowboys & Aliens was spot on, I loved seeing both Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford playing their respective characters. Craig portrayed the quiet lost cowboy that is just trying to figure out what in the world is going on and why he has this crazy ray gun bracelet strapped to his arm extremely well. By the end of the movie I almost forgot that he is most well known as being James Bond. Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) also was the perfect counterpart in the movie, playing a tough old colonel now cattle farmer that acts tough but really cares for everyone deep down inside. The two characters play off each other very well and you can’t help but root for this odd pairing in the movie.
The movie was not only a visual feast of the old American West but the dialogue in it was very well written. After shooting down an alien craft (no that’s not a spoiler! Watch the trailer!), Dolarhyde and Lonergan have the following discussion:
Dolarhyde: “What is that thing?”
Lonergan: “Why are you asking me?”
Dolarhyde: “Because you shot it.”
You can expect little conversations like that throughout the movie that makes it very believable and that something like this could happen in the Old West.
The action scenes in the movie are executed in with such beautiful precision. They most consists of revolvers and rifles, just like any other western. The alien weapon on Lonergan’s arm is only used when the situation calls for it. Just like the shield swinging in Captain America the weapon was not overused.
If you must go out and see a movie this weekend I highly recommend Cowboys & Aliens, especially if you are a fan of westerns. Even if you aren’t a big fan of Westerns I still suggest you go out and see it. The acting, story and action scenes will not disappoint and is worth the price of a movie ticket. Cowboys & Aliens is a welcome change of scenery from all the recent comic book/book movies that have been burning up the charts this summer. It’s an original idea that sounds ridiculous at first but turned out to be one of my favorite movies of this summer.
Image modified from http://www.cowboysandaliensmovie.com/
