Cowboys & Aliens (Favreau)

[Dukefrukem]

Only cuz Howard is interviewing Favreau right now

http://wearemoviegeeks.com/wp-content/craigca1-560x373.jpg


1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution dont welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). Its a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where hes been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents, townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors - all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

[Fezzik]

It's weird. For some reason, until I saw the stills and heard the description of the ComicCon footage, I'd thought this was animated.

Ah well. Sounds cool enough :)

[Dukefrukem]

So from what it sounds like, Craig get's abducted and steals some of the alien technology and is able to use the technology against the aliens... hence that released shot. This choice of script doesn't seem like it would interest Craig and Ford.

[Ezee E]

It's weird. For some reason, until I saw the stills and heard the description of the ComicCon footage, I'd thought this was animated.

Ah well. Sounds cool enough :)
I thought the same thing.

[EyesWideOpen]

The comic series it's based on is not very good so I don't have high hopes for this.

[megladon8]

The comic series it's based on is not very good so I don't have high hopes for this.


There have been more than a fair share of great movies based on terrible comics (The Crow is a great movie, and the comic is less than stellar, Kick Ass is another example, or even Blade whose comic was never really anything special).

I'll reserve judgment 'til I see a trailer.

I'm just stoked that Favreau is so anti-3D, and it seems the ComicCon audience was, too. He got a standing ovation when he said it was going to be 2D.

[EyesWideOpen]

There have been more than a fair share of great movies based on terrible comics (The Crow is a great movie, and the comic is less than stellar, Kick Ass is another example, or even Blade whose comic was never really anything special).

I'll reserve judgment 'til I see a trailer.

I'm just stoked that Favreau is so anti-3D, and it seems the ComicCon audience was, too. He got a standing ovation when he said it was going to be 2D.


I don't dislike The Crow or the Blade movies but I don't consider them any better then decent and I haven't read enough of either of their comic series to judge the source material. Kick Ass was a fantastic series which got made into a very good film.

[number8]

The movie has almost nothing to do with the comic (which was indeed terrible). I think they bought the rights just for the title. But it's a completely different story and a very different tone.

The Comic-Con footage looked like it was straight western for most of it. It's very Unforgiven-ish. Then spaceships show up. There wasn't the slightest hint of camp.

[Sycophant]

It's very unlikely I'll see this, but the fact that it's live action and not animated will probably make the trailer that much less insufferable.

[megladon8]

The movie has almost nothing to do with the comic (which was indeed terrible). I think they bought the rights just for the title. But it's a completely different story and a very different tone.

The Comic-Con footage looked like it was straight western for most of it. It's very Unforgiven-ish. Then spaceships show up. There wasn't the slightest hint of camp.


Did it look like Favreau had the same understanding of three-layer staging and iconic imagery that so many of the western greats have had? Or did it look like a fairly un-extraordinarily shot film?

I love me a pretty western.

[number8]

Nah. The cinematography looked more Deadwood than John Ford, but there's this killer shot of the townspeople in torches and shit looking into the desert night and seeing little sparks in the sky. Then the sparks get closer and we realize they're flying saucers. Pretty cool.

On a related note, I am totally on board with the idea of Hollywood buying shitty comics with cool premises and then writing the story from scratch.

[MadMan]

Hey, another sci-fi western. Hopefully this one won't suck-Craig being the star is a good sign, for starters.

[KK2.0]

There have been more than a fair share of great movies based on terrible comics (The Crow is a great movie, and the comic is less than stellar, Kick Ass is another example, or even Blade whose comic was never really anything special).

Men in Black? the Mask? never saw those comics

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.aintitcool.com/images2009/caposter.jpg

[Watashi]

Trailer (http://www.slashfilm.com/movie-trailer-cowboys-aliens/#more-92752).

This looks.... awesome.

[Dukefrukem]

ohh shit.

[number8]

I'd like it if that trailer emphasized the horror angle a bit more, but I understand that they gotta sell the western sci-fi part first. I'm really excited for this movie.

[Dillard]

This looks dumb. And besides, how does the premise even work? How do a bunch of cowboys carrying rifles stand a chance against aliens with vastly superior technology? It's silly.

[Morris Schæffer]

That looks heaps better than what I expected, but I´m not entirely sold. There´s little alien action here, but Ford and Craig seem to become allies. Hm,I guess I was hoping Ford was gonna play a really nasty villain. But yeah, it looks surprisingly gritty for this kind of movie although I hope that it won´t be mundane, boring with shitloads of western cliches. It´s kinda weird, aliens and cowboys thrown together into a summer movie. I was reminded of that PC FPS with the indians and the aliens, a game with commendable visuals, but that never really gelled as a cohesive whole for me.

[Watashi]

This looks dumb. And besides, how does the premise even work? How do a bunch of cowboys carrying rifles stand a chance against aliens with vastly superior technology? It's silly.
Daniel Craig, duh.

[number8]

This looks dumb. And besides, how does the premise even work? How do a bunch of cowboys carrying rifles stand a chance against aliens with vastly superior technology? It's silly.

You don't seem to realize that impossible odds is the backbone of every good action story.

[Dillard]

And he'll outfit the Sheriff and his posse with laser guns! That'll show them aliens!

But seriously, how's the comic book the film's based on? Not great is what I'm reading above.

[Irish]

This choice of script doesn't seem like it would interest Craig and Ford.

Heh .. not sure if you noticed or not (seems like not) ... but Harrison Ford will pretty much do anything if (1) it's been over a year or more since his last film and (2) they pay him with money.

[DavidSeven]

Trailer could've been worse, but they're pairing one of the dullest mainstream directors around with one of the dullest lead actors around. Why do we care?

[Raiders]

Daniel Craig really isn't that dull. I think the Bond films have skewed perception a bit. He must still have Layer Cake and Enduring Love in him somewhere.

[Watashi]

Are you guys forgetting about Road to Perdition, Infamous, or Munich?

Saying Craig is dull is hilarious. DavidSeven just wants attention.

[Ezee E]

I forgot that he was in the first two. Munich he was kinda useless... Davidseven may be on to something.

[DavidSeven]

Reaction of most people who read Watashi's post: WTF, Daniel Craig was in Road to Perdition and Munich?! I actually enjoyed those movies and can't remember a damn thing he did.

[Watashi]

Reaction of most people who read Watashi's post: WTF, Daniel Craig was in Road to Perdition and Munich?! I actually enjoyed those movies and can't remember a damn thing he did.

I remembered quite clearly.

Your latest string of "why do we care" posts are pathetic. This is a movie forum for all kinds of film buffs. Everyone anticipates different types of movies on here.

It's not my fault you can't remember what an actor has been in.

[DavidSeven]

It's not my fault you can't remember what an actor has been in.

It's not your fault. It's Daniel Craig's fault.

[Ezee E]

Two more "he's in that movie" performances: Elizabeth and The Jacket. Wha?

[DavidSeven]

He was also the romantic lead in Tomb Raider. I've seen the film, and I still don't believe it.

[Irish]

Reaction of most people who read Watashi's post: WTF, Daniel Craig was in Road to Perdition and Munich?! I actually enjoyed those movies and can't remember a damn thing he did.

^ This was my exact thought.

If it weren't for Bond, nobody except a few odd Layer Cake fans would have any idea who Daniel Craig is.

[number8]

Isn't it kind of impossible to see Infamous and not remember he was in it?

[lovejuice]

He was also the romantic lead in Tomb Raider. I've seen the film, and I still don't believe it.
Wait, I thought he was in the second film, in which he was ass-kicked by Lara.

[DavidSeven]

Wait, I thought he was in the second film, in which he was ass-kicked by Lara.

IMDB lists him as a lead in the first film. According to the site, he does not appear in the second film. Because his film appearances are the equivalent of being exposed to the Men in Black memory erasing device, this is all we have to go on.

[Spun Lepton]

I'll see this.

[Watashi]

IMDB lists him as a lead in the first film. According to the site, he does not appear in the second film. Because his film appearances are the equivalent of being exposed to the Men in Black memory erasing device, this is all we have to go on.
Who pissed in your Honeycombs?

[number8]

Who pissed in your Honeycombs?

Daniel Craig, duh.

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/uploads/176_4355298124.jpg

[Wryan]

k.

[Skitch]

Hmm. That's a hell of a thing.

[Morris Schæffer]

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/uploads/176_4355298124.jpg

"Hey, we're making this up as we go along."

[MadMan]

I finally watched the trailer, and I'm seeing it not only because its a sci-fi/western. I'm also viewing it because of Craig and Ford acting together. Plus hey Olivia Wilde is always a looker.

[Dukefrukem]

vdy4eRKrf_8

[megladon8]

I kind of would have preferred more retro-style flying saucers.

This movie seems to be taking itself much more seriously than I'd hoped it would.

[[ETM]]

I kind of would have preferred more retro-style flying saucers.

The design doesn't get more retro than this:
http://www.mendhak.com/images/website/mystery/nazca_bird.jpg

[Sxottlan]

This movie seems to be taking itself much more seriously than I'd hoped it would.

Yeah I think I lost a bit of confidence in this one thanks to the Super Bowl ad.

The alien ships in daylight didn't look very convincing (as convincing as alien ships in the old west can look I suppose).

[Dukefrukem]

Yeah I think I lost a bit of confidence in this one thanks to the Super Bowl ad.


This.

I'm gonna skip this.

[number8]

I mentioned in the first page that the footage I saw made it obvious that they're taking it seriously.


The Comic-Con footage looked like it was straight western for most of it. It's very Unforgiven-ish. Then spaceships show up. There wasn't the slightest hint of camp.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I always thought that the biggest mistake both War of the Worlds films made was taking the story out of the late 19th century and putting it in modern times. This seems like they'd potentially be capitalizing on that premise, only instead of focusing on the population being overwhelmed and basically paralyzed by the amazing technology being used to fight them, they get all action-y and have them jumping on spaceships for the sake of audience entertainment. I'll probably pass.

[Sxottlan]

It's not even so much the seriousness of the film as it is was the visual effects not looking up to snuff in the ad.

[Spun Lepton]

I still think it looks like fun.

[MadMan]

I still think it looks like fun.Same here. But then I'm hoping for a sci-fi/action/western that doesn't look terrible (I never saw Jonah Hex, and from what I've heard its awful).

[Morris Schæffer]

Like someone said over at RT, this feels and looks awkward. Some might be tempted to say "cowboys vs. aliens = win" but this movie might feel like two different beasts, none very impressive. And Favreau has yet to actually really impress me as a director of action scenes.

[Henry Gale]

I mean, we haven't even seen a trailer where any of the main characters say more than a couple of sentences. I've liked the look of the footage from teaser and the Superbowl spot, but I don't think either has given anything away in terms of how the script and the story is actually going to conduct itself.

But maybe it's more that I tend to be impressed with the things Lindelof and Kurtzman & Orci have written (that aren't Transformers), so that portion of my mind may be telling me I should like the final product of Cowboys & Aliens more than any trailer might.

[Henry Gale]

New trailer.
(http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/cowboysandaliens/)
Looks fun, but I'm hoping there's a little more to it than what's portrayed there.

[Henry Gale]

Cowboys & Mehliens...

I dunno, I'm already not sure how I feel about this. It only finished about an hour ago, and already I'm starting to forget the stuff I genuinely liked about it, especially in the first half. I think the problem is that Favreau directs the western-toned stuff perfectly well, but then has no real grip on how to incorporate the sci-fi into it in a compelling way. The aliens just aren't anything special. There's no real grabbing quality to them or anything they can do, aside from just obviously being more technically advanced than the humans. Plus, the only scenes that try and have real one-on-one, menacing confrontations with the creatures fall fairly flat because of the movie's wonky logic as to their weakness, and also the fact that more than one of those are with the Last Airbender kid, who is terrible here once again.

The cast they assembled is obviously great, even aside from the two big leads you have Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown, Walton Goggins, Paul Dano, Adam Beach and Keith Carradine, all either there for the entire journey or popping in to punctuate significant points along the way, but the roles they're each in just aren't given the right sort of moments to make them to really shine as much as they should. They're all given a lot to do, but hardly any of it leaves much of an impression. Walking away from the movie, I only though of them as "cowboy Daniel Craig", "Harrison Ford", and "old time-y, but still super hot, Olivia Wilde" instead of whoever their characters were.

It is fun in short spurts, especially in the early, gritty, and mostly score-less action scenes, but it's still only enjoyable to watch to the same extent I thought Captain America was just last week, and I'd even say that the highs in Favreau's film are more unique than they were in Joe Johnson's film, but with the lows just as middle-of-the-road and unremarkable. So for me, with the big summer releases of the last few months, this would rank somewhere between X-Men: First Class and Cap America (okay to good), but well below Super 8 and Thor (fairly great), but also without any sort of joyful cheese coursing through its veins for it to be as (often ironically) entertaining as something Fast Five. Either way, I think it's safe for me to now say that this has been a really dull summer.

It's a great shell of a movie with little to nothing to chew on under the surface. It feels like Favreau, Spielberg, Howard and Grazer, and Kurtzman, Orci and Lindelof all put in the effort, but didn't bother to speak to one another about what they really wanted to do here.

**1/2

[Ezee E]

So is it good or bad that this is going to get beat out by the Smurfs?

[TGM]

So is it good or bad that this is going to get beat out by the Smurfs?

It's a little surprising, though honestly not necessarily all that disheartening.

[eternity]

This...this was just so bad. It's definitely more of a western than a sci-fi film, yet it's clearly written by science fiction scribes who seem incapable of writing a western. The "aliens" are tacked on and run of the mill at best in what is otherwise just a piss poor, bare bones cowboy movie.

The kid who played Aang in the fucking Airbender movie is in this too. Real spoilers: And naturally, despite almost dying a few times, he does not die. They dangle the possibility over your head, and every time, he does not die. But yes, he's a bad actor. And yes, this movie as a whole is very nearly almost as unwatchable as Airbender.

[Henry Gale]

So is it good or bad that this is going to get beat out by the Smurfs?

Well... The Smurfs just seems like a worst case scenario of yet another famous kids property from turned into an "uh oh, cartoons teleported to the REAL WORLD!" story marketed to kids too young to know that better versions of the same characters already exist. Not to mention it's another instance of studios making families pay more for unnecessarily post-converted 3D movies, especially if a 2D option isn't available for them.

Cowboys & Aliens, even just in the melding the two distinct genres, at least feels like it's trying to do something, even if its more rote elements ultimately get the best of it.

But seriously, what a sad-looking box office. Of the top ten, Horrible Bosses and Harry Potter are the only two things that I see as deserving to do well (even then, as if Potter needs my support), at least in terms of Hollywood seeing them make money and saying "Oh, this worked. More of this."

[Morris Schæffer]

These two archetypical Hollywood properties thrown together has always felt a little awkward to me. Is this also a comic? If so, is that superior to the movie and why?

[EyesWideOpen]

These two archetypical Hollywood properties thrown together has always felt a little awkward to me. Is this also a comic? If so, is that superior to the movie and why?


The comic is terrible and according to everything I've read they just took the name and basic concept and didn't use any of the actual story.

[Morris Schæffer]

Ha! Both this and the smurfs have an opening of 36.2 million bucks.

[Fezzik]

Cowboys & Mehliens...

That said it better than any review I could have written. I would have preferred Cowboys & More Cowboys. The Aliens were pointless. Sheer plot device, adding nothing to the story whatsoever.

I came out thinking I would give this a mild "yay" but as more time passes, the less I like it.

And some of the acting in this was freaking atrocious. I didn't realize that kid was from The Last Airbender. He was horrific.

What does this this movie say about Favreau as a director?

To me, it says Marvel did well by pulling Iron Man from him when they did. It's amazing how so many competent to great actors (Craig, Ford, Wilde, Dano, Brown, Rockwell) were in this but were unable to breathe life into it at all. That failure has to fall on Favreau.

Such a disappointment.


Oh, and did it annoy anyone else that...

1. The heroes seemed to have more people die in the final battle than they had to begin with? That was just excruciatingly stupid.

2. That even after killing a couple aliens, nobody thought to take the arm gun off of even ONE of them?

(That last one may have story reasons for being avoided for all I know, but I didn't see it covered in the movie).

[TGM]

That said it better than any review I could have written. I would have preferred Cowboys & More Cowboys. The Aliens were pointless. Sheer plot device, adding nothing to the story whatsoever.

I came out thinking I would give this a mild "yay" but as more time passes, the less I like it.

Oh good, so you essentially shared my opinions. I was beginning to worry I was the only one in our group who left the theater not liking it.

[MadMan]

I enjoyed and liked this probably more than I should have, and I think that's mostly a testament to Ford and Craig. One of these days they will cast Wilde in a movie and actually give her something to do. Maybe this has already happened and I just haven't seen that movie. Probably.

But yeah I too wish this had been just a regular western without terrible looking aliens. Was it entertaining? Sure. But that doesn't make it anything other than a solid movie, one that I'm glad I didn't pay full price for (God bless matinees). Pouring over the rest of the summer schedule, I don't think I'll be seeing anything that tops Super 8 for a long time, although granted I've been screwed out of getting a chance to view numerous movies I really want to see (Tree of Life, Everything Must Go, etc.).

[Spinal]

COWBOYS AND ALIENS: THE REALISTIC VERSION

Screenplay by Spinal

Night. Two cowboys sit beside a blazing fire.

COWBOY 1: You hear that?

COWBOY 2: Hear what?

(pause)

COWBOY 1: Nothin'.

(a giant flying saucer appears in the sky)

COWBOY 2: What in tarnation?

(the cowboys are vaporized by an alien death ray, leaving behind two handfuls of dust that quickly blow away in the wind)

Roll credits.

[Ezee E]

No Morricone score?

[Spinal]

No Morricone score?

Randy Newman.

[MadMan]

A gunfight scene between Ford and Craig would have been beyond badass. Now that's what we really should have happened. Scored to music by Nick Cave.

[kuehnepips]

You surprised me DavidSeven.

Daniel Craig is an excellent actor. See Some Voices or Love is the Devil and you'll change your mind.

[Irish]

Interesting backstory:

Bomb Shelter: Why Did Cowboys & Aliens Fail? (http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/31772/bomb-shelter-why-did-cowboys-aliens-fail)

[[ETM]]

They keep saying "Tron: Legacy" failed at the box office... I don't get it. Even if they spent what it cost to promote it, it still made money.

[Irish]

;365069']They keep saying "Tron: Legacy" failed at the box office... I don't get it. Even if they spent what it cost to promote it, it still made money.

Tron lost money in the US and barely squeaked out a gross profit abroad.

(Both C&A and Tron had similar production costs, and assuming the same level of marketing and a need to make ~$400MM to break even overall, Tron just barely squeaked by).

[D_Davis]

Randy Newman.

You lost me here.

[Dukefrukem]

I didn't know Sam Rockwell was in this. What's his role?

[Fezzik]

I didn't know Sam Rockwell was in this. What's his role?

He's one of the townsfolk. He owns the bar.

[MadMan]

I didn't know Sam Rockwell was in this. What's his role?He was good in the movie, but they didn't give him really all that much to do. The same could said for most of the cast. I'm glad that Clancy Brown is still getting work.

[Dukefrukem]

http://blastr.com/assets_c/2011/08/ImageoftheDayCowboys081511-thumb-550x376-68623.jpg

[MadMan]

Oh come on now, even if I didn't like this movie there's no way in hell it could be any worse than Wild Wild West was.

[Dukefrukem]

This is the worst movie of 2011.

[TGM]

It's certainly one of them, yeah.

[MadMan]

Haha no its not worse than Battlefield Earth, or the more obvious shitfests I've smartly avoided. I'd rather watch Cowboys and Aliens again than see New Year's Eve, for example.

No idea why I'm still defending this movie. I'm pretty sure if I saw it again its rating would drop dramatically. I'm reminded of the first Chronicles of Narnia: sure I gave it a rating in the 70s, but the more I think about it the more I realize it deserves something in the 50s or 60s at most.

[Dukefrukem]

I'd rather watch Priest and Legion back to back then to watch this again.

[megladon8]

I gotta say, I didn't see the trainwreck here that so many others are seeing / did see.

Now, don't take that as "this is a great movie". Not by any means. It's thoroughly mediocre. And perhaps that's the problem - as Jen said after the movie "it's not bad enough to be enjoyed as a bad movie, and not good enough to like...it's just totally mediocre".

But it's far from the worst thing I saw last year. In fact, I thought it was above many other summer blockbusters of recent years (the Transformers films come to mind).

While full of plotholes, one-dimensional characters and pacing issues abound, I really would be lying if I were to say I wasn't thoroughly entertained throughout. Some nice effects, a couple of exciting action scenes, a few funny moments.

It's poorly written and for all intents and purposes a bad film, but I had fun with it.

I would re-watch it over Bay's bloated, over-long Transformers any day of the week.

[Scar]

I rather enjoyed it.

[Morris Schæffer]

Well, for my money, the last hour of tf3 was far more exciting than this movie even if there is bloat to contend with, but yeah sure, c&a wasn't atrocious.

[Dukefrukem]

C&A makes Transformers 3 look like the Godfather. Transformers was fun. C&A is this (http://blastr.com/assets_c/2011/08/ImageoftheDayCowboys081511-thumb-550x376-68623.jpg).

[Skitch]

Hooooooly balls was this a piece of shit. Shockingly bad considering the talent involved. SyFy bad. Battlefield Earth bad.