Ever wanted to see a science fiction flick involving cowboys? Well, Jon Favreau is your man as he's defied all laws of film-making and brought to us a blend never before seen in Cowboys & Aliens.
Arizona, 1873, we wake up with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) in the middle of the desert with no memory of who he is and why he has a mechanical device stuck on his arm only for him soon to encounter individuals ready to apprehend him. Unfortunately for them, Lonergan has some skills when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and immediately disposes of his would-be captors. He heads for Absolution to look for answers, but it is no place for strangers and he eventually finds himself captured by Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) and his men.
No sooner is Lonergan captured than a mysterious set of lights appears in the sky and an attack on Absolution begins, with spaceships flying through the air and creatures terrorising every building. Escaping from his shackles, Lonergan manages to shoot down one of the attacking crafts and it becomes apparent that aliens are on Earth ready for a fight.
On the tail of a wounded alien, Lonergan and Dolarhyde realise they must band together if they stand any chance of surviving the fight and they also gain the help of the mysterious Ella who seems to know a lot about Lonergan. Along the way they recruit more cowboys and head for a pulsating finale to the alien mothership.
What promised to be one of the biggest summer blockbusters this year is ever so slightly disappointing. With a cast consisting of such incredible talent such as Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and the ever-astounding Olivia Wilde, Favreau's anticipated flick falters with little in the way of excitement or a reasonable plot.
Following the ever-present 'aliens attack, humans fight back and head to destroy mothership' plot in alien invasion movies is hugely predictable and despite some good set pieces and a reasonable amount of action C&A loses its way very quickly. Craig has very little going for him as our antagonist and Ford's villain turns from bad to good without so much as a fight. As for Wilde's Ella, she is a conundrum to start with but her secret is all too predictable from the beginning. Jon Favreau is a genius but his last two blockbuster offerings are a shadow of what he is capable of.
Film rating (out of 5 stars): 3
Closing comments: Cowboys and Aliens tries a little too hard to succeed as a mega blockbuster and instead tends to follow to that all too familiar alien invasion storyline. Nothing new despite the diverse mix of main perpetrators.
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