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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Cowboys & Aliens (Film)

by Erin Free | August 16, 2011 18:01 | Edited August 16, 2011 18:01

Despite a clutch of silly moments, director Jon Favreau smartly avoids parody and crafts an admirably serious and entertaining adventure.

If you're going to go with a title as utterly moronic as Cowboys & Aliens (rivalled only by the abominable Snakes On A Plane for its slack-jawed lack of titular subtlety) your film better be good, right? Well, thankfully, blockbuster rainmaker, Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man, Iron Man 2), happily continues his golden run of quality studio tentpole movie making with this loose adaptation of Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's graphic novel.

 

Surprisingly, the film actually takes itself admirably seriously, despite the suggested frivolity of its title. In this head-on collision of the western and sci-fi genres, both are treated with respect and care, and there's a welcome lack of winking-at-the-audience knowingness on behalf of Favreau. He's an intelligent, savvy and sensitive filmmaker, and in, d'oh, Cowboys & Aliens, he lets any humour grow out of the characters and situations themselves, as opposed to any desire on his part to take the easy route by heading into parodic territory. It might have seemed impossible, but - plot inconsistencies and implausibility aside - Jon Favreau does get the seemingly rocky marriage of western and sci-fi to work. 

 

When wanted man and fierce criminal Jake Lonergan (Brit Daniel Craig actually makes for a solid western hero) wakes in the desert with no memory of who he is, and a weird metallic bracelet strapped to his wrist, he sets in motion a plot that the people of the frontier town of Absolution never saw coming. Though lorded over by mean-spirited cattle baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford is terrific in bad guy mode), Lonergan is their only hope against an incursion of technologically advanced aliens with their own nefarious plans.

 

Despite a veritable posse of silly moments, Cowboys & Aliens remains entertaining and enjoyable, while the depth of characterisation and inventive dialogue give the film much needed heft.