From all the trailers I was hardly expecting this movie to be great, especially from a character/story perspective. Indeed, it was giving off quite a Syfy Original vibe.
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
So I just got back from seeing this myselfa little bit ago and I really don't have much to say about it other than to say it was decidedly average. If all you want from a movie when you leave the house is to see some things go boom then it's not going to disappoint you in the slightest.
I probably did it somewhat of a disservice though, since I got home from seeing The Tree of Life (which is just absoultely visually spectacular) then proceded directly to another theater to watch Cowboys & Aliens after a bite to eat. Watching a kind of bland movie after a good or fun movie is never a good idea.
That said, I did see a fantastic quote from a review of this after I got home.
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See now that movie sounds fantastic.| James Bond and Indiana Jones team up to fight cave trolls from Lord of the Rings who've come to Earth in the Black Fortress from Krull. |
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was bad in the slightest, it was just very 'meh'. I'd give it 5 out of 10 were I to actually write a review of it.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
I just got back. I had no expectations, but I loved it. Very fun movie.
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Ah, the Internet. Why be truthful when you can be pithy?
| James Bond and Indiana Jones team up to fight cave trolls from Lord of the Rings who've come to Earth in the Black Fortress from Krull. |
Global name: @k26dp
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I actually kind of agree with the review itself which isn't really all that terribly negative and mostly boils down to, "It's a good rental." That bit there's just a line from the 'brief plot synopsis' bullet point of the review. And actually when you think about it it's actually a fairly decent one. I mean it's the actors for James Bond and Indiana Jones, the aliens do kind of look cave troll-ish, and their space ship does the same general 'thing' as the Black Fortress ... well not the whole disappear and reappear in different spots every morning thing but still.|
Originally Posted by RosaQuartz
I just got back. I had no expectations, but I loved it. Very fun movie.
Ah, the Internet. Why be truthful when you can be pithy? |
The review in case you're curious.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
I thought it was a fun popcorn flick.
If that's what you're going out for, and have already seen Harry Potter or Captain America or any of the other summer popcorn flicks and don't want to do a repeat viewing, then it's worth watching.
If you're looking for high art, high storytelling, not so much.
It was basically a 6.5 out of 10 movie (I'm stuck trying to decide if it's a 6 or 7, sooo, I'll go with the middle of the two).
That said, if you're willing to forgo the popcorn flicks, seen all the others, I'd suggest Friends With Benefits over it.
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I liked the movie. The special effects were well done, the aliens and their tech were cool, and there was some good (for a cowboy movie) character growth by Ford.
I think if it had come out in the spring it would have stood up on it's own better, but it's coming on the heels of two blockbuster movies. Unfortunately, that will probably bring down the reviews to a point lower than it deserves.
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Thanks for the link. Yes, the review itself wasn't that bad, but that line is horrible.|
Originally Posted by Oliin
I actually kind of agree with the review itself which isn't really all that terribly negative and mostly boils down to, "It's a good rental." That bit there's just a line from the 'brief plot synopsis' bullet point of the review. And actually when you think about it it's actually a fairly decent one. I mean it's the actors for James Bond and Indiana Jones, the aliens do kind of look cave troll-ish, and their space ship does the same general 'thing' as the Black Fortress ... well not the whole disappear and reappear in different spots every morning thing but still.
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The character Craig plays is nothing like James Bond.
The character Ford plays is nothing like Indiana Jones.
The aliens have nothing in common with cave trolls, except for a slight similarity around the face.
The alien's ship and the Black Fortress share even fewer similarities than the aliens and cave trolls.
It's a line designed to amuse, not inform.
Global name: @k26dp
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Kind of par for the course with a lot of reviewers. Some of them seem to trip over themselves with coming up with witty ways to bash or tease a film, rather than review it will.
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Originally Posted by RosaQuartz
It's a line designed to amuse, not inform.
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See, now I thought they were more similar in the general silhouette than in the face, but then again it has been a couple years since I saw any of the Lord of the Rings films. And actually I thought the alien's ship and the Black Fortress had more in common than any of the other bits from the quote, just not visually like the others. Granted, it's still not a lot in common but they are both big space ships from alien invaders that more resemble land bound structure (a tower, a fortress) than a ship and bury themselves partially in the earth.|
Originally Posted by RosaQuartz
The aliens have nothing in common with cave trolls, except for a slight similarity around the face.
The alien's ship and the Black Fortress share even fewer similarities than the aliens and cave trolls. |
Mostly I took the line as an attempt to compare overly broad generalities to both 'hook' a reader so as to continue on to the full review as well as to convey the thought that the film itself is derivative and unoriginal. I don't exactly agree with that thought, but I do find the line quite funny.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
I saw C&A on Friday, and I enjoyed it. There were some cheese-tastic moments and a good bit of the dialog was flat and uninspired (there were 9 writers IIRC), but overall the movie delivered a fun couple of hours of entertainment. My wife, son and I all gave it a good, solid B+.
So the general consensus is "so bad it's good"? I may go see it this week.
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Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
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/This|
Originally Posted by sleestack
I saw C&A on Friday, and I enjoyed it. There were some cheese-tastic moments and a good bit of the dialog was flat and uninspired (there were 9 writers IIRC), but overall the movie delivered a fun couple of hours of entertainment. My wife, son and I all gave it a good, solid B+.
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It's a good B movie.
In brief, I agree with several of the previous posters. It is a run-of-the-mill action adventure flick, that just happens to be set in a western with some aliens. Fun rental, borderline for big screen - largely just western level action. Not sad I saw it (enjoyed well enough) just not jazzed up afterwards.
On the whole it felt like a film that fell short of its potential.
I liked the aliens: familiar but just unique enough to be interesting.
The story arc worked, pacing was fine, and acting reasonable.
I particularly enjoyed the first.... 30 minutes or so.
**probable spoilers**
Olivia Wilde's character may have ruined the movie for me. She never seemed to 'fit'... she was just there in the town without any introduction that gave her a place or reason to be there (they did a nice job doing so for pretty much everyone else). Her look was off - lady in a dress: fine; lady gunslinger: fine; lady gunslinger in a dress: odd. And then at the moment she 'died' and miraculously came back... it was a bit over the top and the other characters' reactions just didn't seem quite right. My suspension of disbelief became suspended. I never quite got over it.
The climatic battle in the canyon while Craig's character was off on his derring-do just didn't work for me. The wide to close shots and the pacing of the fight just felt... wrong. Something felt off about the timing of the fight, the speed of aliens, and the numbers involved. And couldn't put my finger on it at the time, and still can't, but that needed some more editing I think.
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You know, I was flat out disappointed by the amount of screen time Ford got. It thought that this may have been one of the more nuanced characters I've seen on screen in a bit and it just didn't get enough meat. As Foam said, they missed the chance to really work the death of the native employee into what should have been a strong moment, but I think it was missed. |
Originally Posted by White Hot Flash
I liked the movie. The special effects were well done, the aliens and their tech were cool, and there was some good (for a cowboy movie) character growth by Ford.
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I wonder if there will be a director's cut on DVD that will do the character development more justice?
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Honestly I've been chalking that up to there being eight credited writers on the film myself. Mostly because too many cooks does seem to make a movie somewhat lacking in emotional impact in my experience. Also because just based on the deleted scenes I've watched and commentaries I've heard on the Iron Man movies and Elf (the only 3 Favreau directed films I've watched) the scenes that seem to be cut from the films don't seem to be ones that add much to the film.|
Originally Posted by Chyll
As Foam said, they missed the chance to really work the death of the native employee into what should have been a strong moment, but I think it was missed.
I wonder if there will be a director's cut on DVD that will do the character development more justice? |
Of course, I could be wrong on that.
MA Arcs: Yarmouth 1509 and 58812
Just got back from seeing this movie. Overall I think the movie was okay, but I have to say I expected it to be a little bit better. If you're a fan of Favreau following his directorial breakout Iron Man, you'll probably expect the same kind of pizzazz and flair that you were undoubtedly reminded of when they inserted a rock song with a few notes similar to Black Sabbath's Iron Man song into Cowboys & Aliens' trailer. Unfortunately, it felt like much of this magic was missing along with Robert Downey Jr.
Upon reflection, I believe this problem can be attributed to the dialogue, much of which was forgettable. If the dialogue had been improved, then I think the scenes and the characters would have had a little more weight to them. About halfway through the movie I noticed that a lot of the scenes were between a pair of characters. We had the pair of Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde's characters, Harrison Ford's character and a boy, and Clancy Brown's and Sam Rockwell's characters. These are the scenes that are supposed to create emotional ties between the characters as well as between them and the audience, but Craig's and Wilde's connection mostly comes down to her being curious about what he knows and him finding her hot. Kurgen just basically gives Rockwell some advice and teaches him a bit about shooting. Ford's son is kidnapped and the boy's father figure was taken as well, so I felt this relationship was the strongest. Still, it's probably not good when 2 out of 3 of your movie's key relationships are fairly weak. In fact, at one point in the movie, one of these characters dies and leaves Craig with the charge of getting the abducted people back, but there wasn't as much emotional weight to the death as there could have been.
Still, outside of the somewhat underwhelming dialogue and thin characterization, the movie has its moments. I think one aspect of cowboy movies that people enjoy is seeing one of the characters as just so cool and ahead of his time in terms of his problem solving, and Craig delivers this in the moments he's given. There's also a minor relationship between Ford's character and one his men that he undervalues that should have been given more screentime because is was more interesting and powerful than some of the others. Above all, though, I think folks who can appreciate movies for their concept and are less likely to scrutinize like I do will enjoy this movie, because the title says it all. It's cowboys (and indians) fighting aliens! It should definitely be more enjoyable for those who are intrigued by the concept of humanity attempting to fight aliens when we don't have all sorts of advanced weapons and technology at our disposal.
So, in summation: go and see this movie if you simply want to see cowboys and aliens duke it out, but don't expect the exceptional type of performance that Favreau got out of RDJ to carry it.
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