Movie Review: Cowboys & Aliens

A man(Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of desert. The year is 1873. He has a wound on the side of his body and a metal bracelet on his wrist. He cannot remember his past. He finds his way to the nearest town named Absolution. The man gets medical aid from a preacher. He gets into a fight with Percy Dolarhyde(Paul Dano) which results in the imprisonment of the latter. The sheriff recognizes the man to the outlaw named Jake Lonergan. Jake is also imprisoned by the sheriff with the help of a mystery woman named Ella Swenson(Olivia Wilde).

When Jake and Percy are being transported to another city for prosecution, Dolarhyde(Harrison Ford) rides into the town in order to stop the sheriff. He has two purposes. Get Percy released and get Jake to deliver the money stolen from his bank. When there is an imminent showdown, alien spaceships attack the town. Some of the residents scramble for cover while the others put up resistance with their primitive weapon. To Jake’s surprise, the metal bracelet becomes active and he uses it to destroy one of the ships.

The alien spaceship abducts some of the residents. Percy, the sheriff and the wife of the local barman Doc(Sam Rockwell) are amongst the abducted people. Dolarhyde decides to pursue the aliens and organizes a posse. Soon, Jake also joins them as he remembers flashes of the past and the key to his loss of memory lies with the aliens. The posse is aided by the Indian tracker Nat Colorado(Adam Beach). During this journey, Jake finds more about himself and also about Ella. The whites and the Indians have to forget their enmity to form a bond to fight against the superior enemy.

Jon Favreau directs this uninteresting movie which combines two genres – Western and Sci fi. An interesting premise is ruined by an unimaginative script which has all the trappings of Hollywood. At the end, there are only two things good about the movie – photography and the music. The photography reminds the viewer of the good old western where the protagonist is on focus; be it in the middle of the screen or at the edge. It aids in heightening the romance of the Western genre. The music is good. It tries to lift us even when the happening on the screen is boring. CG is subtle.

Daniel Craig is perfect as Jake Lonergan. He does not reveal his emotions. But that is what is needed for this role. Harrison Ford as Dolarhyde impresses in the introductory scene but fails then on. After this point, he clearly looks uninterested.

Seeing James Bond and Indiana Jones on the same screen would be a dream come true for a movie buff. But this is a lost chance. Avoid it.

Language: English

Genre: Western

Rating: **

Tags: Movies,Daniel Craig,Harrison Ford,Olivia Wilde,Jon Favreau,Western