Cowboys & Aliens

The women have secrets, the guys have rifles and the aliens have claws. The division of roles is just as clear as in a classic western, which applies also to the character played by Olivia Wilde, who is finally allowed to do more than just soften the impudence of the guys with her presence. Despite that, the climax doesn’t leave any doubt as to whether the good old Wild West needs women or aliens. The director’s filmography leads us to believe the opposite, but Cowboys and Aliens creates a better impression during the purely western scenes, not in the sci-fi elements. The resounding music and the camerawork making full use of the screen, recalling the times when westerns ruled. The hackneyed alien plot is dragged down to earth by the exaggerated seriousness. Though the film would need humour, the scenes without the strange parasites and with a westernised Daniel Craig are sometimes funny, at least because of the actor’s fierce tenacity. Harrison Ford has a smaller presence, though I believe his few lines are appropriately impactful. Cowboys and Aliens is summer entertainment that places minimal demands on the viewer. In some ways, such as its simple understanding of the world and emphasis on outdated manliness, it is reminiscent of the kind of films that are no longer made today. However, it didn’t manage to convince me that I should regret the fact that such films are becoming increasingly rare. 60% (08/24/2011)

The problem lies not in the fact that the whole screenplay consists only of the three words in the title, nor in the unjustifiably overdone footage (which can be said at least for the fifteen minute extended version), but in Favreau himself. He lacks a sense of atmosphere and action, and the ability to create them. Which, in a film where there is nothing but atmosphere and action, is a bit of a nuisance. It's also a shame that the movie takes itself so deadly seriously, and that this pose only fits during the stylish introduction. (02/11/2012)

I don't quite know if there's a more tragic screenplay that sometimes becomes unnecessarily entangled in its simple stupidity, or (again) a desperately flimsy Jon Favreau, who created something resembling a television production without a single ballbusting scene, in which several megastars have accidentally become involved. Although the introduction looks quite hopeful, the rest of the film is full of endless desperate awkwardness, which is ridiculous but in no way entertaining. I wonder what the crew spent the $160 million on. Probably fiery water and windy women. You can see it in Cowboys and Aliens - and this could and should have been really good. But the film would have had to be made by someone who at least has the general ability to drop genre clichés and not just mechanically imitate them (and badly!). (08/10/2011)

Wow! There really isn’t even a pinch of humour. Something like Cowboys and Aliens could never be good this way, even with the greatest genius behind the camera. To make with a serious face a film where a group of cowboys and Indians avert an invasion of aliens that have come to earth to mine gold (oops, spoiler) is mental. If it at least looked good, but no, not even that, it’s just two hours of grey and boredom. Not even the aliens are good! (11/20/2011)

What initially appears to be an unconventional B-movie, full of juicy visuals (you can see the signature the director of Iron Man), gradually turns into a pile of clichés and a dull display of various forms and quality of visual effects. It's been a long time since I've seen something so conceptually and dramaturgically mishandled, like the ending of this film. Cliché upon cliché – a final battle and a classic catharsis the likes I've seen a million times before. Perhaps nobody expected much from this film, judging by the title, and they won't get much either. I don't understand the insane budget. (01/01/2012)