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Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

tomatometer

44

Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 229
Fresh: 101 | Rotten: 128

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.

51

Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 19

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.

audience

47

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 86,183

My Rating

Movie Info

1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. 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. Now, the stranger they

PG-13, 1 hr. 59 min.

Western, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof

Dec 6, 2011

$100.2M

Universal Pictures

Cowboys & Aliens Trailer & Photos

More Photos (70)
More Trailers and Videos (26)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Cowboys & Aliens

All Critics (229) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (103) | Rotten (129) | DVD (8)

Takes itself much too seriously, with acts of brutality outnumbering the gags.

August 8, 2011 Full Review Source: New Yorker | Comments (10)
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Cowboys & Aliens is an agreeable time-killer, but I'll bet a couple of clever kids could make a livelier movie with a Woody puppet and a Predator doll.

July 31, 2011 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comments (33)
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[A] phenomenally successful two-man war against narrative clarity and continuity.

July 29, 2011 Full Review Source: The Atlantic | Comments (23)
Christopher Orr
The Atlantic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A film that entertains, even if it doesn't live up to the full-on madness potential the title portended.

July 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Film.com | Comment (1)
Laremy Legel
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's just big silly fun, the kind you're supposed to have at a summer movie with a ridiculous title.

July 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comments (23)
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Over on the aliens side, it's hard to make out faces, but there's no doubt about their place of origin: These slimy, growling, bug-eyed and distinctly non-scary things are straight from central casting.

July 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comments (8)
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Rather refreshingly what-you-see-is-exactly-what-you-get: a western with aliens grafted on, or a sci-fi invasion film with cowboys grafted on--nothing more, nothing less.

February 1, 2012 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | Comment
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

A mercilessly boring, wasted opportunity that forgets to have a sense of humor, charisma, or aliens.

January 29, 2012 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment
R. L. Shaffer
IGN DVD

Cowboys & Aliens is akin to firing an old six-shooter. The aim is good, the ammo is in abundance, but sometimes that damned thing misfires.

January 14, 2012 Full Review Source: Dread Central | Comment
Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton
Dread Central

Takes an excellent premise full of potential, and makes it dull.

January 3, 2012 Full Review Source: SFX Magazine | Comment
Rob Power
SFX Magazine

... A dour affair that fails to capture the spirit of either genre.

December 28, 2011 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | Comment
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

While we were hoping and rightly expecting some old school magic from the director of Iron Man, the director of Iron Man 2 showed up.

December 23, 2011 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | Comment (1)
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com

'Reach for the skies' has a whole new meaning now. The science-fiction Western 'Cowboys & Aliens' is an entertaining, genre-blending romp. It's a serious movie, too - a drama with comedic moments - and that makes it all the more exciting.

December 22, 2011 Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | Comment
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)

Not the Boys Own Adventure it could have been, but a fun - if often flawed - romp.

December 13, 2011 Full Review Source: The Baltic Times | Comment
Laurence Boyce
The Baltic Times Source: The Baltic Times

Not what you'd expect . . .

November 22, 2011 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | Comment (1)
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

No amount of gee-whiz techno-wizardry or nifty pop-cultural juxtapositions can save Cowboys & Aliens from two terrible truths: it has a dud script, and a dud director.

October 26, 2011 Full Review Source: The Vine | Comment (1)
Clem Bastow
The Vine

full review at Movies for the Masses

September 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment (1)
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

we get a standard story, some decent setpieces and only a few funny lines...Take the ride, but don't blame us if you end up saddle sore.

September 16, 2011 Full Review Source: SFX Magazine | Comment
James White
SFX Magazine

Uma diversão eficiente que, sim, poderia ter explorado sua ótima premissa com mais cuidado, mas que ao menos não a desperdiçou com "homenagens" tolas e auto referenciais.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | Comment (1)
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

The two marquee stars don't interact much, the "big" action pieces are fairly ho-hum, and the movie just cowpokes along when it seems like it should be having a lot more galloping fun.

September 8, 2011 Full Review Source: American Profile | Comment
Neil Pond
American Profile Source: American Profile

As always, the men's transformations -- from selfish, ignorant individuals into something like a community -- are helped along by their union against a common enemy.

September 8, 2011 Full Review Source: PopMatters | Comment (1)
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

I don't think too many people are going to wander into the theater expecting The Tree of Life. The film delivers exactly what it promises.

September 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Christianity Today | Comment
Kenneth R. Morefield
Christianity Today Source: Christianity Today

So in much the same way that 'Transformers' is essentially a robot war with a few humans stumbling around trying to get laid; this film should really have been called 'Alien Bracelet Vs. Aliens... With Some Cowboys Falling Off Their Horses'.

September 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Fan The Fire | Comments (3)
Nick Deigman
Fan The Fire
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Cowboys & Aliens

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Daniel Craig was great. Ford had his moments. But this movie could have been so so so much better!

August 17, 2011
jmanard52
John Manard

Super Reviewer

I must admit that when I first heard about Cowboys & Aliens and saw bits of the trailer and TV spots, I was scratching my head. I didn't know what to make of it being that it had such a blatant and cheesy title. Fortunately, the film itself turns out to be much better than its title. It stars Daniel Craig and Harrison

February 9, 2012
FilmFanatik
Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

Cowboys & Aliens Quotes

View All

    1. Meacham: [to Doc - learning to shoot] Don't yank on it - it's not your pecker.
    – Submitted by Brien M (45 days ago)
    1. Meacham: Not bad for a country preacher.
    – Submitted by Trypp B (48 days ago)
    1. Ella: I told you not to look in the light.
    2. Jake Lonergan: Yeah. Right.
    – Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
    1. Ella: If it's all the same, I would like to ride along too.
    2. Meacham: Yes, ma'am. We've got a kid, a dog, why not a woman?
    – Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
    1. Jake Lonergan: Demons took your gold. When you get to Hell, you can ask for it back.
    – Submitted by Moeslim A (5 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Cowboys & Aliens (DE)
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