Cowboys & Aliens

Play trailer

1:19

Cowboys & Aliens

PG-13

2011

1h 58m

Sci-Fi

Western

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

44%

Tomatometer

254 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Bearing a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist, an amnesiac gunslinger wanders into a frontier town called Absolution. He quickly finds that strangers are unwelcome, and no one does anything without the approval of tyrannical Col. Dolarhyde. But when Absolution faces a threat from beyond Earth, the stranger finds that he is its only hope of salvation. He unites townspeople, outlaws and Apache warriors against the alien forces in an epic battle for survival.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are as dependably appealing as ever, but they're let down by director Jon Favreau's inability to smooth Cowboys & Aliens' jarring tonal shifts.

Read Critics Reviews

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

09/08/2017

B+

From the cool special effects, to its top-notch acting and wickedly fun concept, Cowboys and Aliens is just that film that you may in fact hate to love. But it is really enjoyable.

Go to Full Review

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

01/27/2012

2.5/4

It must be said upfront that, for all its problems and script deficiencies, Cowboys & Aliens is probably the most continually entertaining effort of director Jon Favreau's still relatively young career.

Go to Full Review

Ed Gibbs

Sydney Morning Herald

08/19/2011

7/10

There is nothing that fascinating about Favreau's treatment, nor his source material, but compared with similar blockbuster fare of recent months, this curious exercise in genre bending is very watchable.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jan 1

2/4

It’s apparent the writers merely plugged in conventional story devices that would have worked just as well in a movie named Cops & Barracudas or Doctors & Hornets or even Accountants & Amoebas.

Go to Full Review

Bill Newcott

AARP Movies for Grownups

04/01/2023

4/5

If Sam Peckinpah had made Close Encounters of the Third Kind...(or)...if Steven Spielberg ...had directed The Wild Bunch, I could imagine it turning out a lot like this.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/09/2023

3/4

The film serves up a serious-minded genre experiment that works, despite some lingering feelings of disappointment for its lack of raw, popcorn-munching silliness.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Pedro Henrique C

@Pedro2005 1d

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) This is a real mess. The poor script itself leaves several things unexplained. The cinematography in this film is so dark that it detracts from the audience's experience.

See more

Jim222001 W

@Jim222001 3d

An under-rated that probably should have been more fun and took itself a little less seriously. Though it’s fine for what it is, a Western with aliens.

See more

Mitch S

@SwagoDiego2k May 26

It's just a poorly done concept of an idea that had potential. The content it's based on would have been a good template to use. The big issue I have is the the aliens. How do they have the ability to stand up right and use tech that is so sophisticated that they can literally space travel to another planet. On the ship they have a scanning laser system that turned a woman to dust. The stranger has a piece of tech on his arm that shoots high tech explosive projectiles out of it. And yet the aliens act like beasts. They even use bombs and have the ability to clearly why devolve into actual beasts. One alien even uses a fricken rocket launcher type weapon. Why not every alien be upright holding advanced weapons in a organized manner? Not just jumping people and being easy to shoot targets. Seems just to big if an issue for the story to work. Lots of other issues. Idk I wouldn't recommend but maybe you'll like it.

See more

Sharayah H.

@RT07646023 May 26

Really loved how different it was. I enjoyed a new concept

See more

SEATER S.

@SEATERorSTREAMER May 16

Today was my first time watching this movie! That… was SOME production 👏 In the beginning I forgot it was an alien movie - the western storyline was very well done by a phenomenal cast that was ALL in on their roles They added all the western elements and merged them together imaginatively to defeat a common enemy I really underestimated it for years…Super enjoyed it!

See more

Shawn S

@Skoolboy740 Apr 21

I can’t believe I waited so long to watch it. I never cared to see it because of all the reviews. It was a really fun movie though. I don’t believe it deserves all the hate. There was one scene that was a little cheesy but it wasn’t really that bad. I thought the acting was well done. I genuinely enjoyed it. I recommend seeing it at least once if you’re bored.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Jon Favreau

Director

Daniel Craig

Jake Lonergan

Harrison Ford

Woodrow Dolarhyde

Olivia Wilde

Ella Swenson

Sam Rockwell

Doc

Adam Beach

Nat Colorado

View more videos

Battle: Los Angeles

37%

48%

Battle: Los Angeles

Watchlist

In Time

35%

51%

In Time

Watchlist

Edge of Tomorrow

91%

90%

Edge of Tomorrow

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Edge of Tomorrow

Next

28%

53%

Next

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Next

Jumper

15%

44%

Jumper

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Prime Video and Freevee in September 2022

Weekly Ketchup: Harrison Ford to Play Wyatt Earp in Black Hats

Critics Consensus: Cowboys and Aliens is All Mixed Up

Cowboys & Aliens: Trailer 1

1:19

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Bearing a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist, an amnesiac gunslinger wanders into a frontier town called Absolution. He quickly finds that strangers are unwelcome, and no one does anything without the approval of tyrannical Col. Dolarhyde. But when Absolution faces a threat from beyond Earth, the stranger finds that he is its only hope of salvation. He unites townspeople, outlaws and Apache warriors against the alien forces in an epic battle for survival.

Director: Jon Favreau
Producer: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Screenwriter: Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Fairview Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, K/O Paper Products, Platinum Studios, Paramount Pictures International
Rating: PG-13 (Some Partial Nudity|A Brief Crude Reference|Western and Sci-Fi Action|Western and Sci-Fi Violence)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Western, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $100.2M
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby SRD, SDDS