Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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In the Old West a little rustling is to be expected -- you know, evil-doers swooping down in the dead of night and lassoing a few prizes out of the herd. Here's the problem: It's the good townsfolk of an isolated, struggling mining town that constitute the "herd" being pillaged by a gaggle of gold-hungry aliens.
This movie is well worth watching, but I had higher hopes.
Seems these creatures from a galaxy far, far away, target planets for gold extraction, send an advance team to start mining and probe the population for weaknesses. This unearthly threat brings about an unlikely alliance of cattle baron, Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) and Daniel Craig's character, Jake Lonergan, a notorious "wanted" man who stumbles into town with a strange devise attached to his wrist and no memory of anything.
- * * *
- PG-13
- Running time: 1 hr. 58 mins.
During one of the nightly raids in which the aliens literally swoop from the skies, shoot out sticky, chain-like lassos and deliver their victims back to the mother ship, the folks realize their only chance to survive and get their loved ones back is to unite, and that includes the local Apaches.
So, how do you compete with an alien arsenal that includes "flying machines" and ray guns? Colt pistols, Sharps repeaters, bows, arrows, spears, TNT and a good dose of western ingenuity, of course. But wait, Olivia Wilde as Ella, a mysterious, ethereal beauty, seems to have special insight regarding the invaders. Ah, who will prevail?
"Cowboys and Aliens" corrals every Western and sci-fi cliché and stereotype imaginable. From the gloppy, gooey invaders to the gritty, unsmiling, in-need-of-a bath westerners, the character line-up is in dire need of a little comic relief. Even John Wayne could deliver a one-liner and always included a lighthearted moment or two.
Same with Harrison Ford in "Star Wars" and Raiders, but in this film, he's turned into a grumpy old man. Come to think of it, he was getting pretty grumpy in the last Raiders and was really grumpy as the aging anchorman in "Morning Glory." I guess it's evolution.
This movie is well worth watching, but I have to admit that I had higher hopes for "Cowboys and Aliens." Rated PG-13, I'm giving this film 3 stars.
