Cowboys and Aliens

 In 2010 director and actor Jon Favreau, coming off the success of the first two Iron Man films, which launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, announced his next project as Cowboys and Aliens.  The film was originally going to star Robert Downey Jr., who mentioned it to Favreau while they were working on Iron Man 2.  Favreau signed on to direct but then Downey had to drop out to work on Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  Downey probably would have added a lot more humor to the main character, although he certainly could play it straight.  

Cowboys and Aliens is based on a graphic novel whose screen rights were options before it was published, was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, who has made plenty of alien films of his own.  Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. presented benevolent aliens and War of the Worlds showed them as not too disimilar to how they are presented here.  Imagine Entertainment, headed by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard (director of the alien themed film Cocoon) produced the film. The other major behind the scenes talent include writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (who worked on two Star Trek films), cinematographer Matthew Libatique (who worked with Favreau on his Iron Man films), Harry Gregson-Williams who worked on a lot of scores for the Scott brothers and Ben Affleck and notably created a memorable romantic theme for the otherwise unremarkable Tony Scott/Kevin Costner film Revenge.

Although the project had an intriguing title and concept (aliens invade the Old West and the public has fights back) no one knew how the general public would embrace this fusion of two genres.  Westerns had a renaisance in the 1990s after the success of Unforgiven and film fans always have time for the classics like Shane and The Searchers, but by 2011 not that many were being made. 2007 had two pretty good ones The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward John Ford and 5:10 to Yuma but only the latter was profitable.

Favreau and Spielberg attracted some top level talent.  Daniel Craig took over the leading role, which was rewritten presumably to be more laconic with a new character name.  Harrison Ford was cast as the second lead, Woodrow Dolaryde.  Olivia Wilde, who had auditioned to costar alongside Craig in Casino Royale, plays Ella, a mysterious woman (and the only one in the cast with significant screentime) who turns out to have the key to defeating the aliens.  Also in the cast are Sam Rockwell, as a saloo owner (a very different character than the one he played in Iron Man 2), Paul Dano as Dolaryde's son who is a weak bully and (as per his roles in There Will Be Blood, Prisoners and 12 Years a Slave gets beat up several times by Lonergan), Clancy Brown (the vicious guard from Shawshank Redemption) as a tough priest and Walton Goggins, he of the silly faces, as Hunt, a member of an outlaw gang.

Despite the risks the film came with high expectations.  In 2011 Craig had starred in two high grossing James Bond films and Harrison Ford has had plenty of success in genre films, especially those with otherworldly characters.  Attendees at film festivals like Comic Con (where the film premiered) and WonderCon showed a lot of enthusiasm.  But when it was released while some genre fans did go see (as did I) it underperformed.  I never understood why as I thought it was a fun film, though I enjoyed the Western elements more than the sci-fi.  Perhaps male audiences when it to see it once and female audiences stayed away.  

The cast certainly delivers the goods.  Although Ford looks similar to his signature Indiana Jones character, Dolaryde is a veteran and a cattle baron and much more ruthless.  Ford gradually peels back the layer of a man who was emotionally wounded as a young man and became hardened to protect himself.  This is not an original character arc for this type of film but Ford always makes the Dolaryde feel authentic.  Craig's Jake Lonergan as presented is reminiscent of The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, with a touch of Jason Bourne (amnesiac killer who remembers how to fight and little else).  Although this character is another tough badass Craig makes the character distinct from his Bond apart from his sneer in the midst of an action scene.  Olivia Wilde (who was in two films released in the summer of 2011, this and the body switching comedy The Change Up) brings a sexy intrigue as Ella (and she is much better cast here than she would have been in Casino Royale).  

Favreau took an original step when marketing the film.  Neither Craig nor (especially) Ford look particularly comfortable doing talk shows promoting their films so Favreau, who is quick witted and a familiar face to audiences, filmed lengthy conversations with the actors himself and released them online.  They both did the rounds of press interviews themselves in addition but these videos were a great idea.  Since Favreau had earned their confidence (and their work in the film reflects this) the conversations were much more relaxed and insightful.  Ford remarked that he initially threw the script away after about 30 pages and Favreau might have been better served by cutting that line but I always enjoy seeing a little about the creative process.  

Spoilers below:

In the finished product Cowboys and Aliens plays a little like a Western version of Independence Day.  I read somewhere that it is about 70% Western and 30% science fiction and that feels about right.  We suspect right from the start that the aliens have something to do with Lonergan's amnesia and the bracelet is clearly not of this world.  After the opening fight Favreau uses all the tropes of a Western to set the stage (saloon fight, great desert vistas, unique cast of characters who could be identified by their job titles, town called Absolution-great name).  When the aliens attack it disrupts what was likely to be a showdown involving Dolaryde, the Sheriff, and Lonergan.

The initial attack scene is intense but not horrific.  Favreau and his stunt coordinators know how to stage a moment like this for maximum effect as several of the townspeople are captured and Lonergan saves the day by using the bracelet which turns out to be a powerful weapon.  The bracelet, which does not work all the time, feels a little like a cheat code sometimes but it helps level the field since the pistols most of the characters carry are only marginally effective against the aliens.

The alien design itself is not one of the film's strengths.  The chest cavity housing extra arms and hands, feels like it is borrowing heavily from the cocoon of the Alien films which reveal a menacing head.  The body is more like a gorilla and the heads are relatively small.  The aliens are much more effective in the interior scenes than in the climax where they are running around.  

In films of this nature, as well as the Alien and Quiet Place films there's always a question as to how much to reveal about the aliens.  The Quiet Place series is mostly a study of how different pockets of society react to and navigate this world changing event, within the context of this genre film.  The Alien series gradually reveals more about the creatures in each film but the story at least in the first few are always about the lead character Ripley.  Cowboys and Aliens shows teamwork as groups of people who do not normally like each other work together to end this threat.  The aliens also want to study humanity and use gold for their weapons (though you have to look closely to see that, a line explaining it further would have helped) so the immediate threat is of kidnapping (a later flashback of Lonergan's wife shows that the kidnapped people are eventually killed.  But there is no central alien antagonist and I think it might have helped to at least show something more from their point of view.

Character is revealed through action particularly in a scene in which we see that Lonergan, before he and his wife were kidnapped, not only was involved in a robbery but also double crossed his gang by stealing the loot from them.  Lonergan gradually grows more of a conscience throughout the story and makes amends with his gang (after taking a beating from them earlier) and recruits them to help fight the alien threat. Additionally Dolaryde combines his military experience with that of the Native American chief to draw out the aliens where the humans have a better chance of beating them.

The Western elements, while formulaic, looked great on the big screen especially in some of the wide shots with the caravan tracking the aliens.  Gregson Williams' score, especially the main Lonergan theme, captures the setting with a mix of the guitar (and it even sounds like a banjo might be in there) combines with an orchestral sound.  The guitar is played staccato and gives the whole score a lot of energy.  

There nighttime attack is the first of three battle sequences.  The second is about halfway through the film when the aliens attack everyone in an open field. Again this only lasts for a couple of minutes. Lonergan's rescue of Ella has some narrative conveniences (the attack vehicle flies just low enough for Lonergan to jump on it and crashes in water) but the effects and the actors efforts sell the suspense (although the crashing vehicle has sounds similar to an airplane).  The heart of the scene comes from the exhausted Lonergan carrying the wounded Ella to safety in the stifilng heat. While he clearly is attracted to her his act seem chivalrous.  The afterwath of the scene leads to the moment of warmth from Dolaryde (Ford calls him "pal" a word he uses a lot when being friendly onscreen -see scenes in Frantic and The Fugitive when he talking to children-while playing doctors with the first name of Richard).

The third is the big climax which has a lot of good moments as the humans fight the aliens in a rocky area.   The six shooters and arrows are only marginally effective but Favreau stages the scenes so they include people working together.  The lasso moment is particularly fun.  Set against this is Lonergan and Ella's quest to free the kidnapped townspeople in the ship which is less exciting.  Lonergan just keeps firing his alien bracelot to take out the enemy.  The only beat that really works is when Lonergan is recaptured by the alien he had wounded (and had killed his wife), though we do not really see how he gets free.  

Some additional miscellaneous thoughts I have include:

One detail I enjoyed a lot in the film is the aliens are referred to as "demons" as the characters rightly would not have any thoughts of extraterrestial life.

The ship looks like a giant pillar, very different from the ship that had a more disc like shape in Independence Day.  

Harrison Ford has now acted in three projects with James Bond actors (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Sean Connery, this and 1923 with Timothy Dalton).  All include Western themes and have scenes of Ford wearing a hat and riding a horse.  

Favreau has built on the Western-Sci Fi framework by working with Dave Filoni on the excellent series (at least for the first two seasons) the Mandalorian.  The title character borrows a lot of cowboy tropes and many of the episodes take place on desert planets with similar environments as to Westerns.  

Cowboys and Aliens is a fun ride, helped by the setting, score, and the committment of especially the two lead action veterans who are especially good at making an unlikely scenario seem plausible through their very human reactions. The film leaves a thread or two for a sequel but I think another film might have leaned into the more science fiction elements, which would draw it away from its strengths much as the third Ant Man did.  I recommend it as it is better than its reputation.  I also encourage modern audiences to see more classic Westerns.  They are a little slower paced but usually very rewarding. ***