Whilst last year's True Grit remake was able to sell itself on being an authentic and iconic film property with the direction by the Coen Brothers thrown in for good measure, this comic-book-inspired Alien franchise/spaghetti Western/abduction mash-up was always going to be a tougher sell to the mass market, as its soft U.S. opening showed. Indeed, the fact that there is much more Western than Sci-Fi on screen may make the movie a challenging experience for younger viewers, but therein lies the movie's strength. The Western elements are established very effectively, with good-looking design, wonderful hard-bitten performances by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford as amnesiac 'stranger' and town leader respectively (with notable character work by Clancy Brown and Sam Rockwell) and Favreau's usual strong direction and attention to detail. The action beats are brief but enjoyable, and the violence is very direct for the 12A rating, yet the whole affair feels strangely low-key and small-scale. The script is tight and well-structured, if a little clinical in terms of plot progression. Cowboys & Aliens as a concept is of course utterly daft, but on its own terms, this movie is solidly entertaining and to a reasonable extent delivers on the ideas it offers.
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