I saw "Cowboys and Aliens" at the premiere in San Diego during Comic-Con, so I decided I should write a review. I'll be light on spoilers. The movie smartly starts quickly with Daniel Craig waking up with the gadget you see in all the previews on his arm. Favreau keeps the pace up during the movie and has a few surprises to keep you on your toes. Harrison Ford isn't in the movie as much as you would expect, when you hear about Favreau saying he was really happy to get him in this role, it makes sense since Ford seemed to have the same amount of screen time as Olivia Wilde. Ford and Paul Dano's characters were the two who made the most of their screen time but also had stronger personalities that work better in supporting roles. I also liked Sam Rockwell's wimpy guy role and Noah Ringer did well as the kid in the movie, even though his character doesn't necessarily belong in the movie.
The aliens look good, sometimes they look better than others (usually daytime), I really liked the look and feel of their ships. They aren't in the movie as much as Universal is advertising, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The premiere audience was understandably loving the movie, but I think it will really be a people pleaser, especially Harrison Ford's portrayal of Woodrow Dolarhyde. Dolarhyde is almost like Sean Connery's Professor Henry Jones from "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" as a bad father who doesn't believe and is used mostly as comic relief. Maybe the experience affected my reviewing the movie but I hope not, I'll probably see it again when it opens this weekend with a regular audience. Overall it is a good western that is paced for today's audience that likes to throw in a surprise or twist when you seem to know where it is going.
Score 8.5 out of 10
