Cowboys & Aliens
2011, Action/Sci-fi, 1h 58m
257 Reviews 100,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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 critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Jake Lonergan
Woodrow Dolarhyde
Ella Swenson
Doc
Nat Colorado
Percy Dolarhyde
News & Interviews for Cowboys & Aliens
Critic Reviews for Cowboys & Aliens
All Critics (257) | Top Critics (67) | Fresh (113) | Rotten (144)
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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.
September 8, 2017 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… -
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.
January 27, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review… -
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.
August 19, 2011 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review… -
If you can swallow the shameless set-up, it's all highly entertaining.
August 19, 2011 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… -
Jon Favreau handles the big setpieces with competence if no great flair; whenever the plot backs itself into a corner something else will make a sudden, inexplicable interruption.
August 19, 2011 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… -
Favreau ... allows the material's imaginative possibilities to flare up and fade away.
August 18, 2011 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
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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.
September 8, 2017 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… -
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.
January 27, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review… -
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.
August 19, 2011 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review… -
If you can swallow the shameless set-up, it's all highly entertaining.
August 19, 2011 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… -
The idea of Cowboys & Aliens is so wild that it's a shame the film doesn't make more of it.
December 5, 2020 | Full Review… -
For a film that should have been out of this world, Cowboys & Aliens is disappointingly down to earth.
September 5, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4.0 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Cowboys & Aliens
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Jun 03, 2016I fell asleep the first two times I tried to watch it. I didn't miss much.Gimly M Super Reviewer
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Aug 09, 2015An embarrassment for all involved. I'm rooting for the Indians, in this case.Christian C Super Reviewer
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Mar 29, 2013"Cowboys & Aliens" starts with Jake Lonergan(Daniel Craig) waking with the grandmother of all hangovers in the middle of nowhere with no memory of who he is but with a weird metal bracelet that he cannot remove from his arm. Things do not improve once he gets back to town as Percy Dolarhyde(Paul Dano) shoots up the place, accidentally hitting a deputy. Not only does Sheriff Taggart(Keith Carradine) take Percy into custody but also Jake who it turns out is wanted for everything shy of cow tipping. And just as Percy's father(Harrison Ford) shows up for a quiet conference, the light show starts. If one wanted to point out the beginning of the end of Hollywood, it would be when B movies began to be made with A budgets.(For further proof that the movie world has gone to the dogs, there is Alex Cox who has to pass the hat around on Kickstarter to get his cool-sounding adaptation of "Bill, the Galactic Hero" made.) Exhibit A is "Cowboys & Aliens" which is a B movie idea if there ever was one, made with a blockbuster mentality that does not get either genre right.(By contrast, the Doctor Who episode "A Town Called Mercy," a jelly baby western, nails it, along with pointed insights into the possibility of redemption.) It does not help the banal story and slack pacing that Daniel Craig is miscast, his brooding intensity doing little for a movie so desperately in need of a sense of humor. But kudos to whoever cast seasoned pros Clancy Brown and Keith Carradine. And at least Harrison Ford shows signs of life, for a change.Walter M Super Reviewer
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Oct 24, 2012Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig? Sounds like a winner. The direction is top notch, but if you boil this dirty water of a film, you can easily the stain is the writing. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtman have never written a script that is a grand slam. While their ideas have "moments," the overall final product leaves much to be desired. Despite the great cast and director, Cowboys and Aliens dies a slow death at the hands of the weak script.Bryan D Super Reviewer
Cowboys & Aliens Quotes
| Jake Lonergan: | I'm a wanted man. |
| Colonel Dolarhyde: | I could have sworn I saw Jake Lonergan die in that cave. |
| Sheriff John Taggart: | Damn shame. I was hoping to hang him myself. |
| Jake Lonergan: | Jake chuckles and rides off into the sunset. |
| Meacham: | (to Doc - learning to shoot) Don't yank on it - it's not your pecker |
| Meacham: | [to Doc - learning to shoot] Don't yank on it - it's not your pecker. |
| Meacham: | Not bad for a country preacher. |
| Ella: | I told you not to look in the light. |
| Jake Lonergan: | Yeah. Right. |
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