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Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

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View Poll Results: What did you think of Cowboys and Aliens?
Awesome!
4.55%
It was good, not great.
42.42%
It was okay. I had issues with it, but it was watchable
16.67%
Didn't hate it, but I didn't care for it.
19.70%
Hated it. It sucked
3.03%
I have zero interest in seeing this.
6.06%
I want to see it, but too lazy to go to theatre. Will wait for home video release
7.58%
Voters: 66. You may not vote on this poll

Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

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Old 07-29-11, 12:41 PM
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Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

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By djariya at 2011-07-29


Trailer:

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0JlTboo4cPM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Starring:

Daniel Craig
Harrison Ford
Olivia Wilde
Clancy Brown
Sam Rockwell

Directed by:

Jon Favreau

Screenplay by:

Roberto Orci
Alex Kurtzman
Damon Lindelof
Mark Fergus
Hawk Ostby

Synopsis:


The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger 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 don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's 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 he's 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.

Since this is a pretty big summer movie, might as well get a review/commentary thread going as opposed to the pre-release thread.
Old 07-29-11, 12:45 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

I will probably see this on Saturday or Sunday
Old 07-29-11, 12:50 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

I might see it today.
Old 07-29-11, 01:12 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

The "mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist" is very Fallout-ish isn't it?
Old 07-29-11, 01:24 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Orndorf (***½): http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/51096/cowboys-aliens/
Me (**): http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/51117/cowboys-aliens/

Last edited by tylergfoster; 07-29-11 at 11:12 PM.
Old 07-29-11, 09:51 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Saw it. Fun movie. Some people must have had their expectations too high. Far from perfect, but very enjoyable. Better than Iron Man 2. Only problem I had was

Spoiler:
Dolarhyde finding Lonergan with such ease in that huge ship.
Old 07-29-11, 09:52 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread



Where's Orndorf's review? Both links lead to yours.
Old 07-29-11, 11:12 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Oops, I fixed it in my post.
Old 07-29-11, 11:19 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

I liked it a lot but it felt like it was originally a much longer movie.
Spoiler:
Dolarhyde and Lonergan bonded far too abruptly.
Oh and Dolarhyde's son was so totally worthless that I didn't feel he was worth all that fuss.
Old 07-30-11, 01:59 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

First 15 minutes were good, after that the movie became completely worthless.


2/5, only because of the first 15 and Olivia Wilde
Old 07-30-11, 02:25 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

I feel like the cast was much better than the film they were in. It wasn't outright bad, but it never really grabbed hold of me the way it should have. And the final battle felt too anticlimactic.

On the other hand, I liked Craig's American accent (most of the time) and Ford really stole the show. This makes me wish they'd make some more traditional westerns with the kind of cast this movie had. Forget the alien stuff.
Old 07-30-11, 02:28 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Forgetting the setting, were alien elements introduced into a western plot device? I get the feeling that instead of making a western with aliens, they've made a period piece with aliens instead.
Old 07-30-11, 02:30 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

It had a few western elements.
Old 07-30-11, 02:37 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

That bodes well; will be interested in seeing how Favreau has the two genres intersect.
Old 07-30-11, 09:06 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

I liked it a lot, mostly because Craig is so fucking badass in this one. I love Ford but wish they'd played out the conflict between him and Craig longer, since it was more interesting than the Alien stuff... that said, I thought the aliens themselves were a lot meaner/scarier than I had anticipated for this type of film, which was nice to see. I think it could have used a rewrite or two, but I had fun with it.
Old 07-30-11, 09:20 AM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Can someone post a spoiler-filled review? I don't want to see it but I'm interesting in knowing what the plot details are about.
Old 07-30-11, 12:12 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Originally Posted by mdc3000
I liked it a lot, mostly because Craig is so fucking badass in this one. I love Ford but wish they'd played out the conflict between him and Craig longer, since it was more interesting than the Alien stuff... that said, I thought the aliens themselves were a lot meaner/scarier than I had anticipated for this type of film, which was nice to see. I think it could have used a rewrite or two, but I had fun with it.
It already had five or six credited screenwriters.
Old 07-30-11, 02:04 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt
Can someone post a spoiler-filled review? I don't want to see it but I'm interesting in knowing what the plot details are about.
I usually turn to Wikipedia in these instances. There's typically a detailed synopsis up the day a movie opens.
Old 07-30-11, 02:35 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

BTW, did anyone else notice the plug for Red Bull during the movie?
Old 07-30-11, 03:16 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Originally Posted by KillerCannibal
I usually turn to Wikipedia in these instances. There's typically a detailed synopsis up the day a movie opens.
Thanks.
Old 07-30-11, 06:47 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Thought it was fun but needed some trimming at the end... The western part was great and would love to see a straight up western with Ford and Craig battling it out because they were standouts in this.
Old 07-30-11, 08:40 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

it was fun
Old 07-30-11, 08:42 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

I thought this was pretty good. It was a fun popcorn flick and I enjoyed Craig and Ford in it a lot. The only thing is I wouldn't have minded seeing this just be a regular western without the sci-fi elements. To me the alien aspect seemed not as fleshed out as it could've been. Still a decent movie though.
Old 07-30-11, 08:44 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

Actualy, the entire cast (not just Ford and Craig) should team up for a straight up western. Would be pretty badass, given the right script.
Old 07-30-11, 08:45 PM
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Re: Cowboys & Aliens -- Craig/Ford/Wilde -- The Reviews/Comments Thread

This was fairly mediocre, and they wasted a solid premise in "Cowboys and Aliens", and just turned it into a big, loud mess. I'm still not sold on Favreau as a gifted director, more of a promotional PR guy who gets to direct as well.

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.


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