After attending the world premiere of Cowboys & Aliens in San Diego for Comic Con, people have continuously been asking me what I thought of it. I answer with a simple “it’s an adventure.” Obviously that doesn’t tell them much so they then ask, “in a good way or a bad way.” My response, “I think in an average way.” I have been having a bit of trouble digesting everything from Jon Favreau’s latest comic book adaptation even though, from the get go, I wanted to love every second of it.
Cowboys & Aliens opens with a man waking up in the desert with no recollection of whom or where he is. He has a flesh wound on his stomach and a metal bracelet around his wrist. Later on we find out his name is Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), a man wanted by the state for murder, arson, and other crimes. After being locked up in a coach with the son of Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) and then soon confronted by the man himself, lights begin to flash on the horizon and an alien attack begins to take place, blowing parts of the town up and abducting many of its citizens. The film then turns into a rescue mission as the townsmen unite, despite the animosity amongst the group, and attempt to rescue their kin from the alien stronghold while also tracking down a wounded alien. With Jake leading the way with his awesome wrist weapon and a group of oddball characters battling for their lives, what we get is legitimately Cowboys vs. Aliens.
Despite being moderately entertained and the fact that it looked absolutely stunning, in the end, Cowboys & Aliens fell flat. I never felt like I was lost in the film, completely absorbed into what was unfolding in front of my eyes. It’s that feeling of immersion that usually helps me determine if I like a film or not and it never happened with this one.
I commend Jon Favreau, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and everyone involved for taking a risk on this project. It’s this kind of unique film that the industry needs if it wants to continually create original content. Besides, how can you not want to see something called Cowboys & Aliens on a 
screen, it sounds like a film geek’s wet dream. Unfortunately, it just didn’t pan out the way I had anticipated.
As for the directing, unlike Favreau’s past directorial efforts, this one seemed to lack the charisma, the heart, or some other mystery element that usually makes his films really enjoyable, think Iron Man or Elf. Now it can’t all rest on his shoulders because the performances weren’t that great. The mediocrity of the acting is another reason why the movie didn’t live up to its potential and when the performances were actually good, it was from characters who didn’t have a significant role, I’m talking about you Sam Rockwell and Adam Beach, you guys were great. Harrison Ford was ok, Olivia Wilde had an interesting part, and Daniel Craig played a less enchanting bond with a western accent. Ultimately, it was the supporting characters who I cheered for throughout the entire film.
When it comes to the story, some people will complain about certain plot holes but, when you think about the context of the film, at least to me, it doesn’t seem right if you know everything. When you have the Wild West meeting Independence day, logic isn’t exactly the first thing to come into my mind so excuse me if I don’t fuss over the plot holes like some of the other critics do.
Earlier I mentioned that the film looked absolutely stunning and that was no lie. Making something look western isn’t that much of a challenge these days, but when infusing sci-fi elements like aliens and their ships into the equation, you may run into problems. Surprisingly, when the two genres collided it looked flawlessly integrated. I think it was the combination for the close-up puppeteering 
and practical effects mixed in with the CG that gave the film a sense of realism. The action sequences looked great as well as everything surrounding the alien ships and the creatures themselves. Take note, if you ever want to blend genres and want to do it right, use Cowboys & Aliens as your model and inspiration.
Cowboys & Aliens was an adventurous film that I had high hopes for but, in the end, failed to achieve the greatness it seemed destined for. I commend Favreau on his valiant effort but, this time my friend, it just didn’t all come together the way one might have hoped. You made an adventurous film that was definitely fun at times, but it lacked the originality and candid spirit I had expected from the hype surroudning it. I pray that this won’t be the last oddball film you ever make and that studios everywhere don’t frown upon it if the box office results aren’t up to par.
Rating: An adventurous and beautiful looking film that’s disappointing in the end. (5/10)
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