Craig's 'Cowboys & Aliens' earns mixed reviews on release

29-Jul-2011 • Actor News

"'C&A' is most effective and amusing when it is plumbing the clichÃ©s of cowboy movies and goosing them, as in when Jake, galloping on horseback, attempts to outrace an alien plane. The sci-fi half of the film is disappointingly ho-hum and familiar, drawing on âAlien,â âIndependence Dayâ and a score of other films from the past couple decades," writes Dan Bloom for Reuters.

"As for the cast, Craig does just fine as a strong silent type," says Bloom. "Heâs not as suave here as he is when portraying James Bond, but heâs admirably stoic and, given the chance, wrings laughs where possible. Ford, playing a bossy old cuss, has the most fun of anyone, maybe because he knows heâs no longer responsible for carrying a franchise on his shoulders. Wilde isnât handed many acting challenges but looks fetching in calico and scrambles up and down cliffs nimbly."

Meanwhile Kenneth Turan, LA Times reviewer, expresses his disappointment in the opening paragraph: "It's hard to say what is most depressing about "Cowboys & Aliens", the film itself, or the fact that this was the best movie a posse of major Hollywood players could come up with."

"As noted, Craig's stern presence attempts to keep "Cowboys & Aliens" on track, but it is not enough. When director Favreau enthuses, "I believe that people are thirsting for something like this," it's hard to know what universe he's talking about," wraps up Turan.

"Cowboys versus aliens is a concept that may make you smile in anticipation, but wipe that smile off your face before buying your ticket, because the film takes its subject seriouslyâdeadly seriously in the case of Harrison Ford, who plays a nasty rancher with the snarls and scowls that have become his trademarks, as if in penance for being so charming in the past," writes WSJ.

The cast are praised by Mercury News: "One key to the film's success is that the cast generally plays it perfectly straight, with only the occasional wink and nod to the crazy mash-up of genres. Craig and Ford -- action heroes of two different generations -- play off each other with ease. The camera loves Olivia Wilde ("Thirteen" on TV's "House"), who manages a certain otherworldly quality as Ella, the mystery woman. Sam Rockwell ("Moon") has fun moments as the nervous saloonkeeper, and there is enough breathing room in the chase for such stellar character actors as Walton Goggins ("Justified," "The Shield") and Clancy Brown ("Carnivale," "Lost") to shine in small parts."