Review: Cowboys & Aliens
Take scrappy Wild West folk and pit them against interstellar aggressors, and what should you get? With Jon Favreau directing, you might expect something smart, fast-paced and fun. After all, Favreau's Elf endeared Will Farrell to audiences who had no appreciation for the man -- no small feat -- and Iron Man and Iron Man 2 were both satisfying summer blockbusters. Unfortunately, Cowboys & Aliens has more in common with Snakes on a Plane than with Iron Man.
The concept of "cowboys versus aliens" couldn't be simpler, but the movie plods along with too many subplots. Understandably, archetypal western characters abound. Daniel Craig's broody, silent stranger upsets the uneasy peace of a dirtwater town run by a dictatorial cattle baron, Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Townspeople like saloonkeeper Doc (Sam Rockwell) suffer the patronage of Dolarhyde's spoiled, mercurial son (Paul Dano), thanks in part to worshipful ranch hand Nat Colorado (Adam Beach). The dutiful, tolerant sheriff (Keith Carradine) cares for his orphaned grandson Emmett (Noah Ringer). Gingham clad gun-toting Ella (Olivia Wilde) slouches along in the background and says even less than the preacher (Clancy Brown). After alien raiders strafe the town and steal away many townsfolk, a tenuous alliance forms to recover loved ones.
Audiences don't have to worry about tracking the motivations of any of the characters in Cowboys & Aliens. The repetitively fragmented script won't let you forget anything, whether you nod off or take a long concession stand run. It takes half the film to set up the dynamics between the main characters, without much payoff. With so much time wasted on subplots, not much time is allowed to savor moments between the cast. Most of the main cast can carry a film, and have, but in Cowboys & Aliens they seem hobbled by the awkward pacing.
Many scenes and shots end just as the actors seem to find their rhythm, particularly the interactions between Ford and Craig. Other scenes, such as Dano's scenery-chewing introduction, continue for so long they feel stale. Walter Goggins (The Shield, Justified) and David O'Hara (Braveheart) have small but significant parts in the second half of the movie; both are accomplished scene stealers but in Cowboys & Aliens they never get any such opportunities. It's not surprising, considering there are five credited screenwriters. It makes one wonder about the quality of the source material -- a comic book -- as well as who had creative control. It certainly doesn't seem like Favreau had control.
Even allowing that Cowboys & Aliens isn't meant to be a thoughtful film, it's surprisingly light on action. Not much happens in the first half of the movie, and by the time the climactic battle occurs, many of the scenes are repetitive, something more indicative of a much smaller budget or a much older film. And the borrowing doesn't stop there; it feels like the plot was pieced together from several Westerns and sci-fi extravagances, but ends up being an homage to none. With a running time of nearly two hours, you're going to be disappointed and more bored than entertained by Cowboys & Aliens.