Cowboy and Alien clichés

From James Bond to a Jewish soldier bent on redemption, Daniel Craig brings a sort of mysterious grit to his leading roles.

His unnatural baby-blue eyes and gaunt physique give an air of confident serenity, which ultimately gives way to violent bad guy stomping.

His latest leading role in Jon Favreau’s “Cowboys and Aliens” is no different. But here in late 19th century New Mexico territory, it seems out of place.

He isn’t the only one. There wasn’t a female alive in this time period that looked as good as Olivia Wilde did in this film playing the role of Ella.  And despite numerous recent strong performances from Paul Dano, his character here comes across as a drunken, whiny trust fund baby draped in western garb.

Though Craig never seems to master the “western” aesthetic, he certainly doesn’t ruin the film. His performance pales to that of Harrison Ford’s character, Colonel Dolarhyde — a rough and war-tested cattleman that unofficially runs the town Daniel Craig’s character Jake wanders into.

Unfortunately, Sam Rockwell’s character, Doc, is hardly relevant, at all.

Favreau wastes an incredible talent in Rockwell-- one that shines in films like “Moon” and Favreau’s own “Iron Man 2.” One can truly feel Spielberg’s presence, but little of his magic shines through.

Spielberg is credited as a producer, and it seems as though Favreau is almost intimidated into adhering to the spectacle and romanticism of Spielberg’s films, rather than letting his own charming touch guide the actors through the film.
The first 30 minutes of the film is a slow string of western clichés and character introductions until strange lights begin flashing on the horizon just before a slew of UFO’s set the small town ablaze and snatch up many of the town’s
residents.

Oh wait, that’s still cliché.

The aliens themselves may be the least original creation of the entire film. Favreau’s critters look like another knockoff of Ridley Scott’s extra terrestrials.
In the storyline, Jake is the natural leader of the resistance because of a revelation that his “bracelet” isn’t really a bracelet at all, but an alien-made ray gun that is probably their only chance of survival.

An epic final battle scene is one of the rare, captivating moments of the film.

Ultimately, the film is bearable because of the Spielberg-esque eye candy and strong  — if a little uninspired — central performances from Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.
Favreau’s epic genre-hopping summer blockbuster will go down in the film canals as unimaginative and ordinary.

By Jake Amrhein