Even more frustrating is the film's very inexpensive look. The script certainly tries to give heart to everyone, but no one seems willing to commit to their characters enough to make the whole experience feel real, save for maybe Clancy Brown, who plays a local preacher. And Wilde (a very funny actress/comedian), is given no real emotional core or sense of humor. Rockwell delivers the most stoic performance of his career. Craig is given nothing interesting to do. Just about every performer in the film looks and plays the role like they just pulled an all-nighter. For example, in the opening, Ford's rugged, brutal cow farmer appears to be the film's primary human villain, but that all but escapes the character before we even reach the halfway mark. The film is mercilessly dull (even more so in the included extended cut), with over-dramatized, one-dimensional characters, tired dialogue and odd switches in motivation. No, it's an old school western – a bad one at that. But aliens are not really what Cowboys & Aliens focuses on. Worse, despite a two-hour running time, there are very few aliens in Cowboys & Aliens, save for the finale and a few scenes here and there, mostly stuff seen in the film's trailer. Problem is, the title suggests something the film never fully capitalizes on – fun. It would seem he (and producers) were afraid the outlandish title might illicit laughs and not much confidence in the viewer, so they felt the film needed to play things absolutely serious in order to surprise audiences.
The film is designed by the director to play more as a true cold-blooded western than a goofy sci-fi feature – a creative choice he foolishly fought through production. Alas, Cowboys & Aliens slowly unravels in a whirlwind of dull and boring, and all fun, thrills and mystery virtually evaporate from the feature before the first hour has ended.įavreau allegedly fought an uphill battle when making Cowboys & Aliens, and it shows. Cowboys fighting aliens in a vintage western setting? Sounds like fodder for a good old-fashioned B-movie, something that might play better on home video.
Many critics jumped all over the film when it arrived in theaters, but I wanted to give the movie the benefit of the doubt. I dug the cast (including Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde), too. I liked Jon Favreau's other films, and the actor/director seems like a cool dude. Damn you, Cowboys & Aliens! I really wanted to like you.