Castelar at the Movies: Cowboys & Aliens

During Cowboys & Aliens, we have two alpha males who are trying to prove to everybody who the toughest man is. Throughout the movie, these two characters have to work together to eliminate a common enemy.

Daniel Craig portrays the mysterious John Lonergan who wakes up in the middle of nowhere and he doesn’t remember who he really is. On the other hand, Harrison Ford plays Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde who is the most powerful man in the town of Absolution and this man has a grudge against John Lonergan.  When Dolarhyde finds out Lonergan has been captured in Absolution he takes a posse of his men with him to settle the score.

    Unbeknownst to everyone, there are many aliens lurking around the area and all hell breaks loose when these extraterrestrials attack the town of Absolution. These aliens take many people with them and Dolarhyde takes a couple of people with him to rescue those people who were taken away.

In my opinion, this film was a mixture of the films Silverado and Independence Day as it is a western movie with a science fiction element which works on some levels. There are several memorable action sequences that are truly stunning to watch and those people who are looking for a vicious science fiction film will like this movie.

   Of course, there are various remarkable special effects which look great, but the story of the film could have been better. There is not a lot of exposition on how the aliens got to our planet and they don’t really seem to be a scary presence throughout the movie such as other extraterrestrials which have appeared in other science fiction films like Alien and Predator. Most of the main characters are not really very likeable and I didn’t really care if they lived or died.

Fortunately, there are some memorable performances by some of the members of its cast. Sam Rockwell gives a great performance as the comic relief of the film. Rockwell portrays a man called Doc who is a saloon owner in the town of Absolution and he is truly one of the funniest characters in the entire film. Adam Beach gives a terrific performance as he portrays Nat Colorado who is Colonel Dolarhyde’s right-hand man and a fearless ally who is extremely loyal to his boss.

 In my opinion, this was a good summer action flick but it could have been better.   

Castelar