Cowboys and Aliens Review

Plot:  In 1873, the Arizona territory, as a man with no memory of his life pieces together his past he discovers he may be the key to preventing an impending alien invasion which threatens the small town of Absolution and possibly the world.

Review:  Right off the bat, without knowing a single thing about it, the title got my attention.  Cowboys and Aliens.  I'd heard it was based on an independent comic that caught the attention of Hollywood heavy hitters, but not much else.  Then I heard who was involved in the movie.  Spielberg, Howard, Craig, Ford.  A laundry list of award winners and Hollywood A-listers.  I was determined to see it even before the first trailer debuted.  And I wasn't disappointed when I did.  The film blends the tricky combination of a classic western tone and an authentic alien invasion movie perfectly.  The costumes, classic western town and people, the advanced alien technology and creepy aliens.  The Outlaw Josey Wales.  Tombstone.  3:10 to Yuma.  Aliens.  War of the Worlds.  The movie never once loses the authenticity of either genre and when the two come together it feels natural and it's an absolute blast to watch!  The only thing anyone might see wrong with the story is the lack of detail in the motivation for the invasion.  It's not really a flaw, just a minor quibble for people that doesn't ruin the thrill of the movie.

With the exception of Daniel Craig, the entire cast makes sense for a movie like this.  Most notably Harrison Ford.  But Craig never loses sight of the 'man with no name ' outlaw.  He embodies the loner cowboy completely from beginning to end.  Harrison Ford, on the other hand, shows some minor missteps with his character, where he teeters slightly on the edge of campy without going over, so he's extremely fun to watch, but his borderline to a cliche without becoming one during the movie.  The supporting cast rounds out the authenticity of the tone, from the sheriff, the barman, the thugs to the native american tribes.

In the end:  This is a fantastic, original comic based film in a summer loaded down with quality superheroes.  If you love westerns, if you love alien invasions, you won't be disappointed.

Grade: A-