Cowboys & Aliens Is Great
December 18th, 2011
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4.5 out of 5 grinds
I rented Cowboys & Aliens on iTunes. I do not go to the movie theatre anymore because I hate dealing with behavior of other people. Don't get me started.
Cowboys & Aliens takes the classic western story and turns it upside down. The movie starts out as a normal western with a tired plot. Then the Aliens arrive. The prototypical western film protagonist and antagonist are forced to team up against a larger foe.
For what this movie sets out to accomplish, it achieves. It's a movie about cowboys and aliens. Don't expect Shakespeare. Having said that, I think the plot was well crafted and I was kept interested throughout.
The special effects were great and they did not hold back on gore. If you were fighting powerful aliens on horseback, of course the horses are going to die horrible deaths. Those details really make the movie seem real in its made up world, i.e. its verisimilitude.
Olivia Wilde is in the film. She looks amazing. Aside from Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde is the hottest actress working in Hollywood today. I have no complaints about her acting in this film. The movie also stars Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. Daniel Craig is British and his American accent was convincing enough.
I have seen a lot of critics criticize this film. Peter Martin of Twitchfilm.com writes:
"It wants to be a Western, but it's a horse opera that relies upon the novelty of an alien invasion to perk up the plot, which dawdles when it needs to dash." (Martin, 2011)
I think Peter Martin is missing the point. Cowboys & Aliens takes two classic genres and contrasts them. Of course the alien aspect of this movie is the more exciting aspect of the movie and moves the plot. I think the movie plays up the difference in styles while combining the two well. This is not a movie that wants to be a Western. Cowboys & Aliens is a Western that wants to be a Sci-Fi.
Peter Martin also had this to say:
"To add insult to injury, Olivia Wilde isn't even naked." (Martin, 2011)
Peter Martin and I agree on one thing. We both want to see Olivia Wilde naked as many times as possible. The one thing that he leaves out is that she is wearing a partially see-through old timey dress throughout the first half of the move that gets wet more than once. I don't know what more Peter Martin needs but I suggest he types it in a search engine. Do you need to see nudity in a movie to enjoy it? Olivia Wilde has been naked in movies before. We have seen it. We will live.
I recommend Cowboy & Aliens to anyone who loves Sci-Fi. It is very violent and very graphic. Take your kids if you want, I'm not going to tell you how to raise them. There is not any nudity but, as previously stated, Olivia Wilde is prancing around in a see through dress half the movie. The film was beautifully shot, the editing was elegant and the acting was good enough. This is a fun movie.
~RC
Works Cited
Martin, P. (2011, July 29). COWBOYS & ALIENS Review.
Retrieved December 18, 2011, from Twitch: http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2011/07/cowboys-aliens-review.php