The cowboys and aliens in "Cowboys & Aliens"
photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

“Cowboys & Aliens” (Universal Pictures)

Solo and Bond In the Old West

Harrison Ford played Han Solo in the “Star Wars” movies, and Daniel Craig recently portrayed James Bond in two movie adventures. Now these two action heroes join forces to fight alien invaders in the rip-roaring western “Cowboys & Aliens.” Their star power certainly adds to the enjoyment of the film and makes their deeds of derring do immensely entertaining.

The film starts with a man (Craig) awaking out in the countryside. He doesn’t know who he is or where he has been. He also doesn’t know why he has a strange metallic contraption strapped to his left arm. He makes his way to the nearest town where the local sheriff arrests him for being a “wanted” robber named Jake Lonergan. Meanwhile land baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford) comes into town looking for his son (Paul Dano) who has been arrested for disturbing the peace.

Before the two men can be taken to meet the Federal Marshall the town is attacked by aliens. Several townspeople including Woodrow’s son are abducted. Woodrow and Lonergan form a posse of sorts to try to track down where the people have been taken. Joining the posse is a woman named Ella (Olivia Wilde) who has a strange fascination with Lonergan.

The whole film is a battle of cowboys versus aliens. You would think there would be little they could do in a situation like this but they put up a strong fight especially when aided by that contraption on Lonergan’s arm. They also get some added help, but that is a real twist in the movie plot and won’t be disclosed here.

Ford is his usually gruff self in this role. Of course underneath the character’s exterior there beats a warm heart. Ford captures this all and makes Dolarhyde truly heroic. Craig is perfectly cast as the mysterious stranger. His steel blue eyes seem to capture all of the events, and then transmit them to his brain where a plan is formulated. All of this is done with looks and that is good acting. There is also good chemistry between Ford and Craig. The movie would have been enhanced with more scenes of the two of them together.

Olivia Wilde is appearing in every other movie out of Hollywood these days, or at least that is how it seems. In this film she is perfectly suited for the woman who is an enigma for a large part of the movie. Wilde’s appearance adds a feminine touch to the whole story and provides a spot of romance.

The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.

“Cowboys & Aliens” is what it says it is – cowboys fighting aliens. That sums up the plot and basically the movie. If that title interests and intrigues you then chances are you are going to enjoy this film.

I scored “Cowboys & Aliens” an intergalactic 6 out of 10.

            JKC