Let's go to the movies! - Cowboys&Aliens -

Hello, thar. Meinos Kaen here!

Finally solved all the problems related to my internet connection, I return to you with the review of a movie of which I recently purchased the Director's Cut Blu-Ray version and I must say that it left me with a very good impression. The unusual genre coupled with the name made me think of something dumb, a flick, but it was much better than what I thought. Ladies and gentlemen, with a score of 7 out of 10, I give you my impression of Cowboy & Aliens.

 
I first heard of it when friends on my forums started commenting on the trailer but I didn't give it much thought during its theatrical release, thinking of it as another money-grubbing flick, putting together two cool factors for the lulz and win. Then, a few weeks ago I was browsing through the blu-ray section of my usual store. What caught me was its two main actors, which I had previously missed. That prompted me to buy it. Say what you want, but putting together a Bond and Indy was an insta-buy for me. Craig and Ford are good actors and, as declared by the director, did their job in making the movie look less prone to funnies.

Of course, I didn't go in expecting 2001: Space Odyssey. Concepts like this movie's one seldom get done well, although I can say with confidence that this was a job done 70% well. The objective was to make a good mix of the Western and Sci-Fi genres and there are scenes where each of the genres shines at his best. For the Western you have to wait very little. A rich boy being an asshole with guns, the whole town not being able to move a finger because of his leverage, alas his daddy, until he steps on the toes of the silent cowboy with no name and no past. For the Sci-Fi, the scene where the main girl's true nature gets revealed after her death is the scene. I really didn't expect that, it left me surprised and it also had a sense. Aliens, right? Why should they die as easily as us? Although, if she already decided to reveal herself in the end, Craig could have skipped having to carry her through the desert.

And then, you can witness this movie's best feature when you lay eyes on what is the perfect fusion of Western and Sci-Fi in the alien fighters. I fell in love with their design, they felt technologically superior to everything else around but at the same time they felt outdated: this movie successfully brought two worlds back to the 1800. The movie was visually perfect and almost perfect acting-wise, exception made for, surprisingly, Harrison Ford. His bitter veteran portrayal wasn't that convincing, I preferred the parts pertaining his relation with his sons, particularly the adopted one.

The movie could have been infinitely better if the writers had done a better job with the plot and didn't forget at crucial times just what made the whole thing enjoyable: the realism. The fight scenes with the aliens were weak, it felt like both sides but particularly the Cowboys didn't do everything they could, maybe because it would become too bloody. Seriously, you've shown that the aliens aren't invulnerable? While I may understand not having a spare Gatling Rifle laying around or risking to make one of those things get too close before unleashing a shotgun round in his face, why not prepare some boulders to smash the buggers with as soon as they show their ugly mugs if you have been so adamant about having the higher ground minutes before? Or why not do more of what Ford did, using your horse-power? Literally. Chevaliers' lances were that deadly, after all. Also, there were too few dead people among the kidnappees, considering the time the good guys took to get to destination and the aliens' intended use for the hostages.

400-1200 rounds a minute, bitches! In 1876!

Wrapping this up, this movie could have been perfect, it had the budget and the talent to be. This time, the fault is to be found in the writing. A bit more of research and attention to the plot would have gone a long mile and would have probably made this movie much more successful in the theatrical release. This sadly means that there won't be a sequel to it (to be fair, it wouldn't necessarily imply that writers learn from their mistakes) which leaves me with the only option of reading the graphic novel which inspired the movie.

Meinos Kaen out!