Adam Collins posted on July 29, 2011 07:08
Cowboys & Aliens is the fifth comic adaptation to come to the silver screen this summer. It is also the fourth, at least, alien invasion film in the last 12 months. This film is the epitome of too little, too late. It doesn’t stand out as a comic book movie or an alien invasion film.
Cowboys & Aliens opens with a tribute to Sergio Leone, which could be interpreted as a direct rip-off instead of an ode. The desert is deserted, until Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) sits up into frame. He has no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has a strange bracelet on his wrist and a wound in his side. The cameos start and just don’t stop. Other than Lonergan, Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) and Ella (Olivia Wilde, Tron: Legacy) are the only other significant roles. But, Clancy Brown (Carnivale), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Sam Rockwell (Choke), Keith Carradine (Dexter, Deadwood), Buck Taylor (Gunsmoke) and Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified) all have supporting to extremely minor roles. They all set out to find the mothership and deal with the aliens once and for all.
I cannot stress enough how boring this film is. The posse wonders through the desert for over half the film, looking for aliens that only make quick appearances at night. Why? The aliens don’t see well in daylight. Wasn’t this gimmick used in Reign of Fire? It seemed like a way to make a movie without a large budget for lots of CGI shots. The CGI that is used in the movie is well done though. The finale is a long, drug out, frantically-filmed battle between the cowboys who partner with a local Indian tribe to fight against the alien enemy.
Other than the directing, the only other saving grace was that Cowboys & Aliens was NOT in 3D! Thank God. I am tired of 3D, and I cannot wait for this phase to pass. To be effective, 3D needs to be used sparingly. Movies, like Avatar, where 3D actually enhances the film, are fine, but most of the time it adds nothing to the movie other than a premium price at the box office. Supposedly, Disney is re-releasing The Lion King in 3D. Ridiculous.
I read the graphic novel that this atrocity is based on. It spent more time with the aliens which did not look at all like the ones in the film. In fact, there were several different types of aliens. Most of what happens with the aliens in the novel is still in the movie, only it’s told to us through Ella. I was not a fan of the novel. It was too short, had very little character development, and then abruptly ended.
Yet, I was psyched to see the movie. Cowboys & Aliens is from the same writers, producers, and director of Iron Man. Throw in James Bond and Indiana Jones and you can see why I had high expectations for this movie. Unfortunately, Cowboys & Aliens fails epically on all fronts. The dialog is clunky, awkward, and just plain sad, which I attribute to having five credited writers. The pacing of the movie is very slow. I found myself already bored when the movie was only at the 20-minute mark. While the action scenes were decent, too many of them happen at night when it is really hard to see what is going on. Jon Favreau’s directing shines, but as you can see there is little competition to be the best aspect of this movie. I thought this would be a slam dunk, but it was nothing more than a solid, back of the rim, brick.
RATING: 3/10