"Cowboys & Aliens" -- Reviewed

As I mentioned earlier, “Cowboys & Aliens” was criticized for it being two well known genres mashed together which left some people feeling sour as they were expecting a western or a sci-fi film. This is a mash up. It’s really its own genre. I should add that I like it that Hollywood took a risk and developed this film. In a summer where all we have is remakes and sequels, it’s nice to see something quasi original.

When I went to see the film this weekend, I went in with an open mind. This should be a typical exercise when seeing a film titled “Cowboys &Aliens”. Now, the first third of the film really embraced in the ‘western’ genre and characters were established albeit mystery loomed around its core characters. Daniel Craig plays a great badass and has his own take on a man with few words (see: “The Man with No Name” trilogy). Harrison Ford has finally awakened from his coma on screen. He finally gets a chance to shine. Olivia Wilde was good but her character left me wanting much more from her and not because she’s super hot. There is a BIG plot hole stemming from her character.

The cowboys go from fighting amongst themselves to fighting with Indians to finally banding together and fighting the aliens. Yes, the film is a lot of fun but there were some pacing issues and even though the story might be predictable and hokey at times, it’s only because the director is paying homage to westerns. To me, this was another problem with the film. You see, when J. J. Abrams paid homage to Spielberg’s past films in “Super 8” he did it in a way that added his own take to what is expected and also grounded it firmly in Abrams’ own created reality. Even though I love Jon Favreau, I think he missed the mark a little with this one. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed the film. Could “Cowboys & Aliens” be better? Yes, from a story telling aspect definitely. Granted this mash up of two genres is extremely rare, the story didn’t have to be a cliché of both genres mixed together.

Even though the film has its flaws, I still recommend it as it remains a fun summer popcorn flick with strong performances and top of the line special effects.

Overall Grade: B+

The Anti-Proverbial Descent of "Cowboys & Aliens"

It’s been a few days since I last posted and I just wanted to say that I'm not sorry. I had writer’s block. Perfect excuse. Anyway, I’m using this post in particular to talk about my excitement in seeing “Cowboys & Aliens” tonight. Much of the reviews that are coming out of the wood work seem so divisive. This shouldn't be a surprise though. Think about it. Some will expect a western, some a sci-fi. I believe this film will be an extremely fun film but not a classic. What I mean by that is the term ‘classic’ is defined as memorable but these are within the confines of a particular genre. Since “Cowboys & Aliens” is a mashup of two genres, it will be hard to tell how much of a mark it will leave in cinema history. In preparation for tonight, I’m going to go with as open as mind as possible. I can’t ‘expect’ anything. Now that I think about it, I believe the marketing behind the film must have been difficult. How do you effectively sell two genres, especially when they are mashed together? I mean, the title itself is ridiculous. What the marketing is relying on is the talent involved in this film. There are a lot of ominous shots and then we see Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and the ‘director of Iron Man’ come up and marketing execs are hoping all will just nod their heads and see the film. For me, the film had me at ‘cowboys and aliens’. I think a mash up will be a lot of fun. It’ll be interesting to see what Jon Favreau (director) has in store for us. Also, Olivia Wilde is extremely great looking and another great reason to see the film. A thorough review should be up soon.