Dir: Jon Favreau
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde.
Synopsis: A man wakes up in the desert without any memory of who he is, where he came from, or where the mysterious thing on his wrist came from. What he discovers about himself and what is happening around him leads to him and his posse saving their town and, possibly, the world.
Verdict: I was so excited about seeing Cowboys & Aliens, after months of seeing trailers in the cinema and online. I was all set to having my socks blown off and, unfortunately, I was left with my feet still nice and cosy.
It wasn't that it is a bad film which is what left me feeling deflated. The cast certainly live up to their reputations: Harrison Ford plays Woodrow Dolarhyde, a cattle owner and ex-solider from the civil war. A tough, stony, hard ass character, Ford shows the different layers behind the gravelly exterior, albeit not as well as the cheeky charm of the roles he is most famous for.
Daniel Craig is the main character, Jake Lonergan. He does a pretty good job of being a reflection of Ford's Woodrow, a hard-ass, stubborn, take-no-nonsense cowboy on the outside, with a soft caramel inside. His performance is great but, being a British actor, his accent isn't as convincing as the rest of the cast.
Olivia Wildes portrayal of Ella Swenson, the mysterious woman who knows more about Jake than he does, is very good - although sometimes feels a bit stiff. However, this talent is rendered almost irrelevent about halfway through the film by some bad choices by the writers.
The story-line isn't too bad, but leaves a lot to be desired, which is my main problem with the film. It leaves you groaning with exasperation at certain points of the plot, and by the time credits started I felt like it had been a real anti-climax. It wasn't a specific scene in particular which gave this feeling, but that the film didn't live up to the hype.
The special effects aren't anything to write home about either. The CG for the aliens and the weapon on Jake's wrist are good, but there's nothing that stands out and makes you think 'wow!' like with the recent Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The aliens are interesting, combining both what you expect an alien to look like with the unknown, and the level of CG/environment interaction is brilliant, especially considering the dusty desert setting.
Favreau is best known for directing the 2 Iron Man instalments which, I'll be honest, I have large amounts of nerd love for and saw at the cinema more than once, and got on DVD as soon as it came out. But with Cowboys & Aliens, I haven't been left thinking 'I need to see that again' or 'I can't wait to get it on DVD', which is what knocks it down that peg or two.
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