The genre mash-up of “Cowboys & Aliens” is more a mush-up, an action yarn aiming to be both science fiction and Old West adventure but doing neither very well.
The filmmakers — and there are a lot of them, among them director Jon Favreau — start with a simple but cool premise: invaders from the skies shooting it out with guys on horseback.
For all the talent involved, they wound up keeping the story too simple, almost simple-minded, leaving a terrific cast led by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford stuck in a sketchy, sometimes poky tale where you see cowboys occasionally fight aliens, and that’s about it.
Based on a graphic novel from Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, also a producer on the movie, “Cowboys & Aliens” has Craig playing the stony-faced lone rider to such stoic extremes it borders on blandness. Ford is similarly constricted in a stereotyped role as the tyrannical overlord of a Western town, though his unfailing charisma imbues some spirit into his under-developed character.
Really, the only clever thing about “Cowboys & Aliens” is the idea itself. The Western trappings are mostly dull, the aliens and sci-fi elements are unimaginative, and cramming them together is not enough to make them interesting.
As the story opens in 1875, Craig’s amnesiac Jake Lonergan wanders into the dusty New Mexico town of Absolution with no clue as to his identity and bearing a strange metal bracelet. Within minutes, he runs afoul of the town’s leaders, crossing the cowardly son (Paul Dano) of local cattle baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford), then tussling with the sheriff (Keith Carradine) and his deputies.
Just as a showdown is about to begin, spacecrafts swoop in and snatch residents off the streets. Six-shooters are like firing blanks at the speedy ships, but Jake’s wristband comes to life, and he gradually learns how to use it as a weapon to fight.
Dolarhyde leads Jake and a posse in pursuit of the creatures, accompanied by the mysterious gun-toting Ella (Olivia Wilde), who knows more about these beings than she lets on.
The action plays out against grand, gorgeous landscapes captured by cinematographer Matthew Libatique, while the visual effects are standard stuff, save for one very impressive explosion.
The filmmakers — and there are a lot of them, among them director Jon Favreau — start with a simple but cool premise: invaders from the skies shooting it out with guys on horseback.
For all the talent involved, they wound up keeping the story too simple, almost simple-minded, leaving a terrific cast led by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford stuck in a sketchy, sometimes poky tale where you see cowboys occasionally fight aliens, and that’s about it.
Based on a graphic novel from Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, also a producer on the movie, “Cowboys & Aliens” has Craig playing the stony-faced lone rider to such stoic extremes it borders on blandness. Ford is similarly constricted in a stereotyped role as the tyrannical overlord of a Western town, though his unfailing charisma imbues some spirit into his under-developed character.
Really, the only clever thing about “Cowboys & Aliens” is the idea itself. The Western trappings are mostly dull, the aliens and sci-fi elements are unimaginative, and cramming them together is not enough to make them interesting.
As the story opens in 1875, Craig’s amnesiac Jake Lonergan wanders into the dusty New Mexico town of Absolution with no clue as to his identity and bearing a strange metal bracelet. Within minutes, he runs afoul of the town’s leaders, crossing the cowardly son (Paul Dano) of local cattle baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford), then tussling with the sheriff (Keith Carradine) and his deputies.
Just as a showdown is about to begin, spacecrafts swoop in and snatch residents off the streets. Six-shooters are like firing blanks at the speedy ships, but Jake’s wristband comes to life, and he gradually learns how to use it as a weapon to fight.
Dolarhyde leads Jake and a posse in pursuit of the creatures, accompanied by the mysterious gun-toting Ella (Olivia Wilde), who knows more about these beings than she lets on.
The action plays out against grand, gorgeous landscapes captured by cinematographer Matthew Libatique, while the visual effects are standard stuff, save for one very impressive explosion.
