Cowboys & Aliens

For Once, They Are Not After The Cattle.

Cowboys & Aliens, the title alone puts a visual into the average viewers head. A cheesy science-fiction movie, most likely containing hammy acting and crazy special effects. But while watching the movie, I found myself very invested in the plot and characters, and whenever I laughed, it was from an actual joke instead of a cheesy scene.

The reason I did actually go see the movie was because my all-time favorite actor was in it, Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, A New Hope). Ford plays against character for a change, he is the corrupt and rather violent cattle rancher with the town in his pocket, basically the western version of a Mafia boss. Unlike most western baddies, Ford actually grows over the film, warming up purely do to the fact he is a human at heart, having characters he cares for (his son, who is kidnapped by the aliens) and who care for him (his Native-American worker whose life he saved at a young age).

Due to being a bad guy, Ford is not the lead character, unlike what the trailer would make you believe. Our star is actually Jake Lonergan, played by Daniel Craig (The current James Bond). Jake is the leader of outlaws, but quits after he falls in love with a "working girl". He is kidnapped by the aliens, but escapes, only to lose his memory. While redeemed before the movie starts, you get the feeling Jake would have most likely stayed a thief (possibly still a killer) if not for the memory loss, which makes him spend a fair amount of the movie trying to find who he is. I think this is quite clever of the filmmakers, nearly all of the characters start of the movie as villains or just everyday people. But when the aliens (called demons by our heroes) show up and make it personal, they all go after them to save their loved ones, and end up saving the day for selfish reasons, while still becoming heroic characters.

The movie will be ignored by the film buffs (I say that as a film buff myself) purely because it's a western with aliens. They will say "This could have just been a straight western." I disagree, as I can see the formula working as a straight western, in a way that I can predict the entire plot and would most likely be right in my predictions. But as the movie is, it's very hard to guess what will happen next, and the movie is stronger for it, as it was the most surprising movie I've seen this summer. Nothing wrong with using a formula that will never be old, but doing something very different can lead to great results, and for me the movie did that.

My final verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars. A great movie, from beginning to end.