I'll be honest. When I first heard about Cowboys & Aliens I hated the idea. I didn't find idea of cowboys fighting flying saucers appealing. After seeing the movie I can see how it could work but Cowboys & Aliens is not the movie.
Gunslinger wakes up injured with weird bracelet. He don't remember anything. He goes to near by town. Sheriff learns he is outlaw and arrests him. When they are taking him away aliens attack the town and abduct town folk. Gunslinger joins town folk when they search for abducted people. This starts journey where our heroes have too many things conveniently happening to them at right time.
Cowboys & Aliens is ok movie. Idea works but they don't take the idea far enough. It is average modern western with average alien invasion part. They should have gone more into western style. Best moments are when movie is more western like. Then aliens appear and movie loses its momentum. When movie gets back to western it starts to work again. Problem is they went for alien invasion instead of science fiction horror.
Cowboys & Aliens would have worked much better as dark western with science fiction horror elements. I think it was written as such. Then they didn't dare to take change with movie which could be very niche movie. Harrison Ford was miscast. He is Indiana Jones and Han Solo. I can't see him as grumpy old racist. Someone like Ron Perlman or Michael Ironside would have been better in role. Or they could have turned racism part down. It was part of his story arc but they didn't need to go that far.
Cowboys & Aliens is forgettable because it mixes two genres by taking away what makes those genres interesting in first place. What we got was watered down version of both genres without substance. I would have forgotten I have seen the movie if I didn't have this blog post. When you watch it is ok movie. Afterwards You don't remember much about it.
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