The film doesn’t even replicate the fake Wild West. To say that Cowboys & Aliensfails to replicate the real Wild West is to understate the case. While old-man Ford is arguing with Jake and the local lawmen, a veritable host of flying saucers arrives to nudge the piece into Spielbergian territory.īefore long a posse has been composed and, while bickering their way towards mutual understanding, the cowboys (and one cowgirl) set out to conquer an enemy more fearsome than a whole hillside of Apache. Oh, look, you’ve seen the poster and you’ve read the title, so you will be well aware that all this sub-Howard Hawks chatter is just the preamble to a visitation by the lizard men from Zafgar. He is the son of a powerful ranch owner (Harrison Ford) and feels himself beyond the law. Jake reluctantly helps detain the hothead, but there is a problem. Jake has barely had time to swallow a glass of hooch before a wild young kid (Paul Dano) begins shooting up the villagers while hollering like a thick student on Arthur’s Day. You hardly need to be told that the settlement is not a haven of blissful peace and god-fearing civilisation. Confused and battered, Jake sensibly elects to do what lone gunmen do: he rides into town. We might have expected worse from the last blockbuster of summer.Įvents kick off with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), a lone gunman, awaking on a dusty prairie with a strange device attached to his arm. But the novelty of the high concept and the strength of the casting just about keep it ticking over. The characters have about as much flesh on their bones as a boiled grasshopper. Based on a Platinum Studios comic, the picture does, indeed, concern itself with battles between inhabitants of the old west and visitors from beyond the stars. I HEAR nobody asking what Jon Favreau’s latest is about. The last of the summer blockbusters is all killer cast and high concept, writes DONALD CLARKE
Starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine 15A cert, gen release, 116 min