Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

 There have been many theatrical trailers within the scope of the past couple of years that have caught my undivided attention in the theater and make me think, “Wow, this might actually be good.” Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with Jon Favreau’s  Cowboys & Aliens. The title alone would either convey stupidity towards the audiences, or at least make them think that this might be one of those “mindless, fun, and enjoyable movies.” Well, the movie did not reach to me on any of those levels I have just mentioned.

Wha-wha-what is this?

The movie start off with a man, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), who wakes up with a strange mechanical device on his wrist in the midst of some desolate region in the west coast region of the United States. From the start, we, the audience, is thrown into a realm, where we are uncertain of what is happening around us, kind of a like a wild wild west form of immersion. That said, we learn the violent nature of Jake within the first five minutes when he belligerently attacks a few pioneers who underestimate him. Fast-forward to the forty-five minute mark is where the action begins (The scenes prior to this part of the film is mainly the introduction of certain characters like the “tough and mighty” Woodrow Dolarhyde, played by Harrison Ford and the enchanting and mysterious Ella Swenson, played by relative newcomer, Olivia Wilde). Now, I’m not going to lie, but the action sequences in Cowboys & Aliens were tame. Less shaky camera action, but incredibly dragged out dialogues cross-cutting in between the “intense” action scenes made it difficult for me to keep up with what was supposed to be “fun.”

I know who you are, but do you know who I am? That's the real question here.

It is here when we discover that our hero, Jake, has a purpose (when he uses his wrist gadget) and shoots down a saucer. The characters then form a posse and begin to embark a quest to find their missing loved ones taken. The mystery is: What happens to the people? And what the heck are the aliens doing in a small town, invading cowboys? As the movie progresses (and drabs), we are introduced to Jake’s background bit by bit, but not one bit of sympathy really came out from me. The “twists” that follow-up are borderline absurd and predictable.

This town ain't big for the two of us.

The movie does try really hard to be likable. But, unfortunately, the characters somehow sink beneath the sands of the desert land and continue to stay there. My problem with Cowboys & Aliens is that there is many characters and concept in introduced too quickly  and there is no time for the movie to re-cap everything on a more personal level, therefore, there are a lot of undeveloped storyline and plots that Favreau could have touched based on. Pacing is somewhat of a drab, but the aliens looked pretty rad. Absurdity is another issue with Cowboys & Aliens. We are led to believe that this movie was some kind of revelation when the trailer was released a year prior to its release, but let’s face it, the plot fell flat. In other words, it was lame. For some reason, all the cowboys in this town can do no wrong! I did enjoy Favreau’s Iron Man series, which made me believe that this movie had the potential to have the same effect as his other films have done in the past, but it did not quite reach me this time around.

I'm Jake, and I'm an ordinary human being who somehow knows how to defeat the aliens...

Cowboys & Aliens is not a terrible movie by any means, but even walking into this movie with low expectations will not surprise you. Well, at least it did not for me. Fans of the cast will watch it anyway, but newcomers, I warn you. On the other hand, Cowboys & Aliens is beautifully filmed and the technical aspect of it trumps all other aspects. Try and see a matinee showing with this one if you must.

Grade: C-