So Daniel Craig wakes up in the middle of the desert with iron on his wrist, a bloody scar on his abdomen, and a Swiss cheese memory rivaling that of Scott Bakula (Yay! Quantum Leap reference). Actually I’m not so sure Sam didn’t leap into Jake Lonergan’s (Dainel Craig’s) body for most of this film. His stronge silent type could be explained away as him listening to Al tell him what Ziggy thinks about the aliens attacking western settlers. Hmm… anyway we all know the iron on his wrist is an alien device. Stupid title and it’s damn spoilers. However the angry fellows who arrive on scene having freshly scalped some Indians think it’s a sure sign of his criminal activity and try to cash in. However he quickly dispatches and possibly kills all four men. Hmm… yea, this film is far divorced from Quantum Leap.
Daniel Craig quickly became my second favorite James Bond after Casino Royale and he continues to impress with his portrayal of tragic hero Jake Lonergan in Cowboys & Aliens. He’s too damn good at selling a punch as well as an emotion and it only helps that he’s acting along side the man that wrote the book on selling punches, Harrison Ford. That’s not to say Ford can’t sell an emotion but let’s be honest. Most people think Harrison Ford and think Indiana Jones and epic stunts and battles. However, Ford’s portrayal of grizzled and begrudging Civil War vet Woodrow Dolarhyde along side Craig’s mysterious outlaw searching for vindication and revenge is a partnership creating such real human drama that honestly I forgot at times I was watching a science fiction film. And to be quite honest this film could have easily become an awesome western film.
Lonergan arrives in town and breaks into the house of a county preacher who, after discovering Lonergan has no memory, decides to patch up his rather odd wound. Shortly there after the town saloon comes under fire by the town bully, Percy. He’s bullying the saloon owner and towns folk under the shelter of being son to colonel Dolarhyde. And there we have it. Small former mining camp under the icy grip of a powerful antigovernment war vet turned cattleman and his posse. Classic tale. I half expected Doc Holiday and the Wyatt Earp to show up and throw down against Harrison Ford at the OK Coral. Of course Ford would’ve smoke’em and changed the course of history.
I’m getting off topic. So Lonergan of course has no intention of bending to the spoiled brat and knees him in the pecker. When Lonergan turns to leave Percy tries to intimidate him and accidentally shoots a federal marshal. Whoops! Percy’s in trouble now no matter who papa is, and the plot thickens. Nothing turns the tide of a story quicker than pissing of the antagonist by sending his son to prison. Unfortunately the sheriff sees Lonergan’s picture on a wanted poster and we get the oh so sad news that our hero might be a villain! But there’s hope for us as the audience because he still doesn’t remember it. Yay! Sad face though because a young lady, who seems suspiciously interested in what we know is the alien weapon on Lonergan’s wrist, helps the sheriff catch Lonergan. Meanwhile mysterious white lights happen to incinerate half a herd of cattle belonging to Dolarhyde and he shows his sadistic torturing skills as he interrogates/punishes the one survivor. Understandably so the story of bright lights blowin’ up a man’s cattle sound to be the tale of a greenhorn whose been knockin’ back some shine. The news of Percy’s incarceration brings the interrogation to an unfortunate end. So the stage is set. Lonergan and Percy are in the coach heading for Santa Fe with Dolarhyde and posse barring down on them. The drama keeps coming! Turns out sheriff isn’t giving Percy up to dear ol’ dad and beyond that Dolarhyde recognizes Lonergan as the outlaw who robbed his stage coach and made off with his gold. Hooray for our assumed hero! At least he robbed the villain!
At this point we’ve come to the climax or at least midpoint of a good western adventure in about thirty minutes. This is where the extraterrestrial element is elegantly and classily introduced with soft mysterious music as the town notices the entrancing and peculiar lights approaching town in the still night air. Cue alien attack with scatted abductions.
As you can imagine this event turns the dynamic of the relationships between our established characters on it’s head. Suddenly our heroes have learned that Lonergan’s weapon is a weapon and they’re faced with the task of mounting a rescue for their lost friends and family by tracking the alien that escaped from the one ship Lonergan shot down with his alien weapon. I’d rather not spoil much more of the movie beyond this point. Suffice it to say it continues heavy on the western side but includes some iconic and classic alien film imagery. Not to mention there exists a subtle hint at the arguably greatest extraterrestrial horror film of all time Alien when our heroes take shelter from a night rain in an almost otherworldly overturned steamboat in the middle of the desert. Dolarhyde’s past begins to come to light and reveals his character to be less black and white and more human. As Lonergan begins to regain his memory we learn that his sins may be absolvable as he struggles with being a good man whose done bad things leading to tragic consequences. There also exists a quite compelling segregate parent story between Dolarhyde and his right hand man, Nat Colorado (Adam Beach).
As for the odd premise of cowboys interacting with aliens… consider this. A number of brilliant minds have explained a sort of paleo-contact theory. Basically certain artifacts have been found which are alleged to represent a higher technological knowledge than is to perceived to have existed at the times they were manufactured. Were they manufactured by aliens or humans who gained the necessary knowledge from aliens? If the ancient Egyptians had help building the pyramids from benevolent aliens why then is it such a stretch to believe more hostile aliens might have come in contact with western settlers in order to mine gold. As for how the premise stacks up as a film remember the western really has been merged with other genres for a long time. The iconography of the west has been borrowed and updated with science fiction by such favorites as Star Wars and cult sci-fi favorites as Fire Fly.
I’ll be honest, I was skeptic of the premise to begin with too. It felt a little pulpy and there was some pulp to it. However the very real human emotion couched in the western frontier period felt by the cowboys coupled with the classic horror thriller imagery and science fiction imagination conveyed in the aliens created a marriage whose outcome was an exciting and entertaining film. Also a shout out to Legacy Effects and ILM (literally the two best creature and special effects companies in the business) and to John Favreau’s direction. It may not be remembered as the best film of all time or of it’s release year, but if you want to watch an entertaining action adventure film I would definitely recommend it!
Suspend your disbelief and join me next time when somethin’ else is gonna happen!
My disbelief is usually suspended anyhow.
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