Cowboys And Aliens Review!!

One of the most anticipated movies of the summer is finally upon us and I have to say I was not disappointed in the big time action flick Cowboys and Aliens.  If you enjoy westerns with a twist of sci-fi in it then this film is for you.  I am not going to make this review long and try to keep it spoiler free so let's just jump into it!  If you don't know by now it stars Daniel Craig as Jake Lonergan, Harrison Ford as Woodrow Dollarhyde and Olivia Wilde as the mysterious Ella Swenson. There are great supporting characters in Clancy Brown as the pastor, Sam Rockwell as the local bartender and Paul Dano is Ford's jerk son that is interested in nothing but causing trouble and not paying the price for it.  The film is directed by Jon Favreau of Iron Man fame.  It is rated PG-13.

Let's start with the story.  Jake Lonergan wakes up in the middle of the dried up southwest with no recollection of who he is and what he is doing other than a strange mechanical bracelet attached to his left hand. Through the course of the film we find that he is a wanted man for robbing gold from a stagecoach owned by Woodrow Dollarhyde.  Dollarhyde has a son that thinks he can do anything because of who his father is and accidentally ends up shooting a deputy in the arm resulting in his arrest.  Even though Jake doesn't know himself, everyone knows him and he is arrested and is lodged in a stagecoach with Dollarhyde's son sent to go to the county police.  That is when Dollarhyde arrives in town just in time to stop the coach.  We fear his son will get away once again when all hear a strange noise and bright lights off in the distance coming towards the town.  Flying ships careen across the horizon whiplashing the towns people into the sky whisking them far away. It's up to Jake, Dollarhyde and a party of survivors to seek out what is taking their loved ones and bring them back.  But, who is Ella Swenson and why does she know so much about Jakes past?  

This story is not an original story or something that you have never seen before.  It is more or less an alien abduction story set in the old west.  What is original in my opinion is that it is in the old west and works with cowboys, indians and aliens.  It is a film that is cool and different than the usual alien film.  We've all seen alien films and abductions and man fighting monsters but not much in the old west.  It has that twist of old school and then the high tech alien weaponry that really clash well together.

The special effects were very cool.  The aliens space ships were cool and original.  I wasn't as sold on the aliens themselves.  It reminded me too much of the alien from Super 8 in how they moved and fought the humans.  I recommend seeing this in the theater because the cinematography was beautiful.  The acting was great.  Daniel Craig did a great job convincing us of a guy who lost his memory as did Harrison Ford as the crotchety Dollarhyde.  No Indiana Jones here folks and a nice break away from the norm for him.

I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a fun popcorn flick to end the summer of big blockbuster movies.  Someone said to me after the film that they didn't get it.  They didn't understand why the aliens were there.  I agree but that is why this is a film about aliens abducting people and the bad ass cowboys getting them back.  Not so much about why they are there or what they are doing on earth.  If your a fan of the actors or the director or even westerns or sci-fi in general then go see this film.  Harry Knowles at Aint It Cool said it was good but not as good as Back To The Future Part 3.  I very much so agree although the BTTF Series will always hold a special place in my heart.