Cowboys & Aliens

The women have secrets, the guys have rifles and the aliens have claws. The division of roles is just as clear as in a classic western, which applies also to the character played by Olivia Wilde, who is finally allowed to do more than just soften the impudence of the guys with her presence. Despite that, the climax doesn’t leave any doubt as to whether the good old Wild West needs women or aliens. The director’s filmography leads us to believe the opposite, but Cowboys and Aliens creates a better impression during the purely western scenes, not in the sci-fi elements. The resounding music and the camerawork making full use of the screen, recalling the times when westerns ruled. The hackneyed alien plot is dragged down to earth by the exaggerated seriousness. Though the film would need humour, the scenes without the strange parasites and with a westernised Daniel Craig are sometimes funny, at least because of the actor’s fierce tenacity. Harrison Ford has a smaller presence, though I believe his few lines are appropriately impactful. Cowboys and Aliens is summer entertainment that places minimal demands on the viewer. In some ways, such as its simple understanding of the world and emphasis on outdated manliness, it is reminiscent of the kind of films that are no longer made today. However, it didn’t manage to convince me that I should regret the fact that such films are becoming increasingly rare. 60% (24/08/2011)

Me and Craig have one thing in common, we both look pretty dumb in hats. But he’s a bit tougher than I am, so he can get away with wearing them in public. C&A is a fairly simple piece of idiocy that combines the most mundane from the world of westerns and sci-fi, well there’s a couple of interesting ideas (just what do those aliens want here), but you would expect that with such a horde of screenwriters (and not bad ones at that) they would come up with something really good. And Favreau usually does a much better job, saving the show with some playfulness, a certain detachment and Downey Jr., but he this time didn’t smuggle any of this into the movie. The aliens hide for too long and so we don’t have much of a chance to enjoy them in the first, cowboy-like, more tedious half. On the other hand, they do look great (and they are the only thing that Uncle Spielberg’s fatherly hand added), and maybe there is more to learn about them in the documentaries on the DVD. Gregson’s music works pretty well. The only thing I can give full marks to is the casting, Harrison is trying not to fall off the Jones comeback bandwagon and he does very well. And Olivia... oh my, Olivia, if you don’t drown in her delightful eyes, then her almost see-through dress will definitely get you. And at the end she has her hair in a ponytail... (25/08/2011)

I am afraid that the length and content of the script did not exceed the title of the film, which promised a great adventure, and in combination with the talented creative team, ideal popcorn entertainment. The first approximately 15 minutes are divine, Craig is the ultimate tough guy, the canvas shirts smell of sweat, and everyone is carrying their guns low. Then Ford enters the scene, showcasing the most ridiculous toughness in the history of the Wild West, and everything is crowned by an absolutely asexual outfit à la Olivia Wilde's nightgown. The plot takes place in a total of 3 larger locations (with the majority of them being the wasteland of New Mexico), a larger amount of ILM fantasizing, so you can also search for it under a microscope, which raises the question: where did the 163 million from the budget go? From the beginning of the second third, it's perpetually echoing boredom, which this commercial failure fully deserves. The worst blockbuster from approximately 2-3 years ago. (27/01/2012)

Wow! There really isn’t even a pinch of humour. Something like Cowboys and Aliens could never be good this way, even with the greatest genius behind the camera. To make with a serious face a film where a group of cowboys and Indians avert an invasion of aliens that have come to earth to mine gold (oops, spoiler) is mental. If it at least looked good, but no, not even that, it’s just two hours of grey and boredom. Not even the aliens are good! (20/11/2011)

What initially appears to be an unconventional B-movie, full of juicy visuals (you can see the signature the director of Iron Man), gradually turns into a pile of clichés and a dull display of various forms and quality of visual effects. It's been a long time since I've seen something so conceptually and dramaturgically mishandled, like the ending of this film. Cliché upon cliché – a final battle and a classic catharsis the likes I've seen a million times before. Perhaps nobody expected much from this film, judging by the title, and they won't get much either. I don't understand the insane budget. (01/01/2012)