Cowboys & Aliens

I never thought this would be my first review and post... forget your first reaction to the trailer. Trust me, you might like it!

I’m not going to lie, when I saw the trailer my first thought was: rubbish. Really? Cowboys and aliens in the same film? How could that work? The trailer – and the story itself – made it seem too… not right. Apart from starring Daniel Craig, I didn’t give it a second thought and didn’t plan on wasting a cinema ticket to view it. What a big mistake I made!

My friend, who had similar views to me about the trailer, was forced to watch it with his younger brother. I told him to “have fun”, sarcastically, and was surprised when he actually did! That convinced me to give it the benefit of the doubt, and a lot of doubt was still present.

The balance between cowboys and aliens is perfect. Obviously there are more cowboys, but just the hint of aliens before the final battle; enough to grab the audience. The mystery surrounding Daniel Craig’s character, Jake Lonergan, is crafted wonderfully. Even my mum, who can’t sit through whole films unless at the cinema, wouldn’t have wanted to leave even if we were at home. Now that’s saying something about the brilliance of the directing. Craig’s character is lost, and the audience can relate to that as we don’t know what’s going on! We get shoved in the middle of the story, in a sense, because Jake has already been through an alien abduction and the lost of his lover. Yet this is perfect for us – we learn as Jake does.

This film isn’t all about aliens, like I expected it to be. It is about the human race grouping together: the cowboys, the India’s, even looking past previous hatreds to defeat these aliens who are trying to steal all the worlds gold. Everyone can gain something from this film, even if they aren’t expecting it. It will grab you and through you into the action. You are Jake. You know as much about him as he himself does. This film will surprise you, and if it doesn’t it’s a good film anyway!