Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

 

In the olden days, what was known as B-films always had a simple title that gave everyone the idea of what they were going to watch. You know, take a classic like 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' which was indeed about a beast that came from the deep. Simple. It's a lost art at times today, with very often titles being so cryptic, you have no idea what the film is about. And then comes along 'Cowboys & Aliens', which gives you exactly what the title says. 

Daniel Craig is a cowboy who wakes up in the middle of nowhere without a single idea about who he is or how he got there. He just has a bizarre bracelet on that he can't get off anymore. He rides into the closest town, where people recognise him as being Jake Lonergan, head of a band of outlaws. But things get weird when one evening, after Jake's been arrested, bizarre flying contraptions visit the town, blow it to pieces and abduct several people. Now a posse rides out to find the missing townsfolk and maybe clear up this mystery. 

Heck, there's not a lot of mystery to it, seeing as it's obviously aliens, but cowboys from late 18th century couldn't possibly know this. Why are they here? Well, to mine for gold, and eventually to return and annihilate the planet. We get to know this thanks to our exposition dumpster of the day Olivia Wilde, who - of course - is extraterrestrial herself. Add in some more outlaws and indians for the final assault on the spaceship/tower and voila. 

If you're going into this expecting something serious, are you in for a letdown. Instead, director Jon Favreau just wanted to make a popcornflick, one where you can leave your brain at the door and just enjoy. Of course, this would highly depend on your love for either the Wild West and/or science fiction, of course. If neither is your cup of tea, you're not going to have a good time, that's for sure. 

The characters are all pretty one-dimensional and arcs are almost non-existant. The most fun character is Clancy Brown and he gets killed about halfway through. But that doesn't really matter, as this was never meant to be an in depth character study anyway. 

The action is passable, but often edited in that incomprehensible ADD-style that filmmakers can't seem to shake off. Maybe it's to camouflage something, or maybe studios think seizures are what the audience wants. It isn't, but we've grown accustomed to this by now. The aliens also look incredibly bland and uninspired. Not even the Kuato-like armour that opens up to reveal baby arms changes that. 

But in the end? It's an enjoyable if forgettable romp. Perfect if you've got time to spare.