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Cowboys & Aliens is a strong western with sci-fi thrown in the appropriate spots. It has all the great elements of each genre mashed up into an entertaining movie with action, adventure and lots of laughs. It’s fun and gripping but not as amazing as one would hope…it’s good, not great. The story is pretty straight forward and you get what you would expect from a title of Cowboys & Aliens…it’s the simple folk of a small western town up against technologically advanced aliens. Don’t worry, there is more to that premise later on in the story with some awesome twists but I won’t spoil it for you. All you need to know is: No, it doesn’t suck and Yes, you should go see it if you’re the least interested in what it has to offer.


Daniel Craig is a bad ass right from the very beginning. The movie starts off as a true western coming across a man stranded in the wilderness alone. Three men on horses discover him and the action explodes right away with a scene that gets cheers from the audience. Jon Favreau, director of Cowboys & Aliens, does the smart move of first capturing the interest of western fans with the slow mysterious beginning and then keeping the action fans with a fast-paced beat em up scene that allows the audience to think, “ok, maybe this will be good!” Craig’s character doesn’t know who he is or what’s going on…he just discovers there’s a weird iron gadget on his wrist and quickly learns it can do some startling things. Throughout the movie, he has flashbacks slowly remembering what has happened to him and what he must do.

We then join the rest of this spectacular cast in a classic one road western town. It would be a ghost town if it wasn’t for the cattle of our other big star, Harrison Ford. Ford plays a rugged cowboy who demands respect. It’s a treat to see him in another movie that can actually utilize his talent but I wish he had more screen time and paramount scenes. Other than a few good lines, he didn’t have a big enough screen presence. Joining these two are Paul Dano playing Ford’s son, Sam Rockwell who is the towns Doc and barkeep, Noah Ringer who is our kid star and Olivia Wilde, a hot dame in a dress with a gun holster. For me, Paul Dano is the standout of the supporting cast. Hopefully this role will launch him into stardom as he’s done his fair share of great smaller indie flicks.

You may say the story is cliche and/or exploiting fans from each genre but it just takes the elements people love from westerns and sci-fis and puts them together. There are actually a lot of similarities in each of the genre’s arcs so nothing seemed out of place. There’s a clear purpose, drive and motivation of the group of cowboys that the movie follows and explains why there are aliens terrorizing these simple people. The juxtaposition is great and the writers played with the concept throughout the film. There’s one early scene where you see the cowboy’s lights via flames on torches and then the alien’s lights via their spaceships. How can cowboys with guns and horses battle aliens with superior technology? Don’t worry, you’ll see.

This isn’t another wait until the last 5 minutes to see the alien type film. It’s not long after the movie starts that you see the first alien act and not much longer after that until you see the actual alien. And these aliens look great! They’re not your common creatures and they bring something new to the table. The movie doesn’t go too in depth to their background or side of the story, but it gives you enough to understand what they’re doing there and what they want. There are some great surprises to keep you engaged in the story as the cowboys uncover the mysteries of what’s happening. Again, Cowboys & Aliens is a straightforward western with sci-fi elements thrown in the right spots. It’s not a game changer and won’t blow your mind, but for the typical moviegoer and sci-fi fan, it’s a fun action-packed western that you won’t fall asleep to and for the western lover, it’s a sci-fi flick you can follow and won’t roll your eyes at! It’s the best of both worlds filed with remarkable talent and a smart script.