Cowboys and Aliens (2011, Jon Favreau)

The greatest thing about this movie, is the western part of it. Jon Favreau did an amazing job here and I can't help but wish that if he ditched the aliens, he would have had one hell of an amazing western.

The setting of the film is superb as Favreau obviously has an eye for westerns. However being as it may, it is however a well made action movie, even if the plot is completely cockeyed.

The special effects are great, the cast is marvelous and direction is in good hands, yet I wish the design team spent more time on the aliens themselves, as the movie went downhill as soon as I saw the actual aliens. They resemble a sort of giant orc from the Lord of the Rings, only here their chest opens up and hands come out.

It is based on a graphic novel from 2006 of the same title and was originally set to be a comedy by Steve Oedekerk, however thankfully went to Jon Favreau who made probably the best marvel movie to date, Iron Man.

Graphic Novel cover

Set in 1873, a man (Daniel Craig) awakens in the New Mexico desert with a very strange metal bracelet shackled onto his wrist and remembers nothing, not even his name or the wound in his . Later once he reaches a town (with the name of Absolution), he meets a woman named Ella who is strangely eager to find out where he came from. But later is recognized as Jake Lonergan, a wanted outlaw, and is arrested only something intervenes. The aliens have arrived, and they are abducting the towns people.

In the resistance, they learn Jake Lonergan is actually a big help to them as he shoots down an alien spacecraft with his metal bracelet and they decide to go after these demons with Jake. With them we have Woodrow Dolarhyde (the great Harrison Ford) who is the richest man in town and can be seen as the villain of the film if the aliens never arrived, a preacher played brilliantly by Clancy Brown, a bartender named Doc (obviously a reference to Doc Holiday from the OK Coral) played by Sam Rockwell, Ella the girl who is so interested in finding out where Jake came from and many others along with a few other groups along the way.

The ending of this film could have been better and once you find out why the aliens are here you'll probably end up slapping your forehead. But in the end it is a good brainless action film that gives us just what we want and for popcorn entertainment, it's a lot of fun and very well made, and to be honest, just seeing Harrison Ford in a western with the hat on... it just brings a smile to my face.

If you're looking for a night with your buddies, some beer, pizza and a movie, then this movie is the answer. It's a brainless action movie that delivers what it promises... and more.

Click here for the trailer

Rating: 3 / 4