Review: Cowboys & Aliens

Two thumbs up.

I went into this movie determined to like it.  I told my stepfather: "It's either going to be so good it's good, or it's going to be so bad it's good.  It's got Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and aliens.  I'm not expecting Citizen Kane."  I was right.

The film's greatest strength, probably, is the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it doesn't take itself too lightly either.  Jon Favreau had no illusions he was making the next Shane.  Although, to be honest, the best cowboy movies usually don't take themselves too seriously.  Think The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.  Cowboys & Aliens sets up as a classic western, with a stranger who rides into town and can't remember his past.  In the first ten minutes, there's a shootout on main street and a barroom brawl.  All the standard characters are there, including the sheriff, the rich and cruel land owner, the pretty girl who has an interest in the hero, the tavern keeper, and even the preacher (although this one slings a gun).  The plot has a pretty standard setup too, with the land owner at odds with the sheriff and the mysterious stranger in the back of a paddy wagon.  Even when the aliens show up, it's about what you'd expect: there's wooshing and blue flashes and they carry people away, and Daniel Craig has a laser gun on his wrist.

After that, the film dutifully trots out all the required cliches, including a plucky band of heroes trekking across the Southwest, bandits, and Native Americans.  Even the alien part of the plot is formulaic: they have fighter planes, abductions, evil medical experiments, a mother ship, and a sinister plot.

You'd think all these cliches would make it boring, but quite the opposite.  Each one gets the respect it deserves as a staple of western filmmaking.  It felt more like an homage.  And there are some brilliant touches, including the aliens who are familiar and yet interesting, and somewhat reminiscent of that wonderful creature from Alien.  Harrison Ford's character, in particular, ends up being a fascinating character, and doesn't follow the cliched plot line for a villain.  Not Harrison Ford's best performance; I felt like he was mailing it in most of the time.  But Harrison Ford on a bad day is better than most actors at their best.  Daniel Craig looks like he was born to play this role, but he looks that way in every film.

Bottom line: a very fun film, definitely worth seeing in the theater.  Not the greatest western in recent years, not after True Grit, but a lot of fun.