Hey - you like westerns, right?
How about sci-fi films?
Yeah?
What about Daniel Craig? Harrison Ford? Thirteen from House? Sam Rockwell? The Kurgan? Walton freaking Goggins?
Imagine them all in the same movie - wouldn't that be incredible?
Erm...
I had high hopes for Cowboys & Aliens, but it just didn't work. The two genres mixed like oil and water, with the western floating about on top only to be spoiled every time an unimaginative CGI alien flashed its jaws across the surface.
There are some fine actors at work here, struggling with a humourless script that attempts to cram in as many cliches from the two genres as possible. The plot takes some ridiculous leaps that would stretch credibility even if this were pure sci-fi. In A western, they just seem crass. The opening half hour is the best, but we'd seen virtually that whole story sequence already in the trailer. There were no surprises to be had and precious little fun. I grew increasingly fidgety towards the end, and that's the worst crime of all for a film featuring both Cowboys and Aliens. No way should I have been bored.
Dull.
