by Jesus Ibarra

Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.

I wanted to watch this movie because it was Indiana Jones and James Bond kicking alien ass in the Wild West. And the movie delivered on that. But in all seriousness I’m glad that the actors were able to go beyond their already established iconic roles to play the characters in this movie.

We begin the movie with Jake (Daniel Craig) in the desert with no memory of who he is, but he has a strange bracelet on his wrist. We instantly know he is a lethal person, because of how easily kills three guys who threaten him. He wanders into town and is quickly arrested for being an outlaw wanted for murder and robbery. The night he is being transferred, aliens attack the town and take various people. Jake uses the bracelet to take down one of the alien ships, but the alien pilot escapes.

Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) demands Jake help him get his son back, seeing as the weapon on his wrist is the only thing they can fight back with. They form a band of town’s folk who include a mysterious woman named Ella (Olivia Wilde). I won’t say more as it might spoil the movie for you but you get the basic plot.
I really liked this movie. It wasn’t great, but it had its moments. The performances by Craig and Ford were the best part of the movie for me. Craig can not only play a badass, but a badass who actually has depth and isn’t one dimensional. In addition, Ford nails it as a seasoned veteran whose kind of jerk, but learns not to be one all the time.

The other thing I loved were the alien designs, and the special effects were seamless. My only complaint is that the dialogue felt so clunky in the beginning and some of the supporting actors couldn’t overcome it like Craig and Ford did. And the big reveal of the film concerning one of characters was so predictable it brought me out of the movie, however once the action got intensified in the second half of the film things felt tighter and cleaner. Overall, it was a great movie, blending sci-fi and western elements really well, with solid acting.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference.

Cowboys and Aliens is now playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6. Showtimes can be found on their website.

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Jesus Ibarra is 19 years old and an ongoing contributor to our Teen Talk section; with a love of all media, he’s always on the lookout for the best finds.