"Cowboys and Aliens"

Jeez, genre mash-ups are starting to get some prevalence around here. Those of you who remember my review slate last year will probably remember the fairly underwhelming The Warrior's Way, which mashed up ninjas and cowboys.

I don't know if there's any more mash-ups on the way, but we do have a mash-up on the menu as today's movie, so let's get to that, shall we?

Cowboys and Aliens

Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of a field, not knowing who he is, where he came from, or what he's doing out in the middle of nowhere. Before long, however, he gets caught up in huge events when the town he goes to first winds up being attacked by the aliens of the title. Thus, he sets out to fight these things with the beautiful Ella (Olivia Wilde) and the gruff Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), all while they unite differing opinions in the Wild West against them.

The proceedings are... eh.

I'll just say this now, that yes, this movie is okay. But it could be so much better for a few reasons.

Let's get started. The actors do their best with the material they've got, but given how standard that material is, it never really comes across as interesting at any point in the movie. We can tell with a good amount of certainty where most of these characters are going to end up, and it becomes fairly predictable. Things become more predictable, we lose interest, and that's what tends to happen as the movie goes on. The plot also ends up getting very predictable, and as a result it plays less like a mash-up and more like a Western which just so happens to also have aliens in it.

Which isn't to say it isn't fun: it is. The action here is quite a bit of fun, and gets very creative with how cowboys, indians, and the whole lot manage to fight back against the aliens in question. There was some genuinely exciting action to be had here, and when there is it's pretty fun.

But at the end of the day, Cowboys and Aliens never fully gets as fun as a movie with such a premise probably should get. It's difficult to tell where the missteps occurred, though I think it ultimately comes down to how predictable the movie is.

2.5/4

If you want to go see it, go see it. If you don't want to go see it, don't.

This is Herr Wozzeck Reviews. I'll see you guys next time.