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In the opening scene of Cowboys & Aliens, outlaw Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) snaps to consciousness in the arid Arizona desert beaten, wounded, dirty, with no memory, and a futuristic bracelet locked on his forearm. Savor this scene … because it’s the first and only intriguing part of the entire movie.

Based on the 100-page Platinum Studios 2006 graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, Cowboys & Aliens takes us to the wild west in 1873, where Lonergan enters the small town of Absolution to piece together the mystery of who he is and where he got RoboCop’s bracelet. Along the way, he runs afoul of Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), a wealthy, cranky, mean-spirited cattle farmer and Civil War veteran who (like most everyone in Absolution) wants to see Lonergan dead.

But this bit of decorative drama comes to a quick end when marauding space creatures zoom out of the night sky in spaceships to abduct townspeople in the most stupidly dangerous, destructive, and inefficient way possible. With many loved ones now in the hands of the aliens, Lonergan and Dolarhyde form a shaky alliance and put together a posse to track the aliens to their home base somewhere in the desert.

Along for the ride is mild-mannered saloon owner Doc (a woefully underutilized Sam Rockwell), Preacher Meachum (Clancy Brown), Native-American guide Nat Colorado (Adam Beach), and beautiful and mysterious Ella (Olivia Wilde), who has a secret … a really stupid secret. They also bring a cute dog and a very young boy (Noah Ringer) on this very dangerous trip solely to be put in multiple scenes of contrived peril. Along the way, they encounter outlaws, Indians, and (of course) aliens in varying degrees of mayhem.

Listen, as an all-around nerd, a movie with this title, source material, and acting talent should pull me in like a moth to a bright light. Instead, what we get is an overproduced, overwritten (nine writers have their names on this film) mess of a film where the missed potential exists in quantities that can only be measured in the same way that geologists measure the passage of time.

The fatal flaw is that director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) treated the story far too seriously. In fact, more seriously than the graphic novel on which it’s based. The entire mash-up concept of aliens and cowboys doing battle is, at its core, wacky and ridiculous. Had this story been approached with a more gonzo, tongue-in-cheek feel then it could have been incredibly entertaining and fun. Instead, there’s little-to-no humor and more than a few scenes loaded with heavy-handed, insincere melodrama. Adding to that, the CGI for the aliens and their technology is good, but not great. And the action scenes are similarly adequate but completely lack any instances where you think to yourself “Okay, that was pretty cool.”

The actors also seem to sense that they’re in a movie that amounts to little more than a hyped summer clunker. Daniel Craig looks great in Western garb and I hope he gets another shot in the genre. Based solely on his demeanor and cold stare, he could be an easy successor to Clint Eastwood in the Sergio Leone films. But in Cowboys & Aliens, he does little more than look good. Ford snarls and grumbles through the entire movie without bringing much more to the mix. And everyone else is, well, just there.

The only audience that I can see really enjoying this film would be young boys who (rightfully) care little about most of the critical aspects discussed above. They just want tough guys, guns, and explosions … God love ‘em. For anyone else, I recommend taking a pass on seeing it in the theater. For some, it may squeak by as a rental you don’t entirely regret.

Cowboys & Aliens

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Given the glut of disappointing superhero movies in recent years, Captain America: The First Avenger is a refreshing, though by no means groundbreaking, diversion into a more nostalgic take on superheroes. This movie also deserves credit for its ability to stand alone, even though it is one of a series of “prequels” to the summer 2012 The Avengers uber-event movie. While it’s true that this movie is bookended by scenes that help set up The Avengers film, everything in between works well all by itself.

Directed by Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, and Jurassic Park III ), Captain America takes us back to 1942 where a gutsy-but-puny Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) tries repeatedly to enlist in the US Army to join the battle against Hitler’s Axis forces. Despite weighing only 90 pounds, Rogers refuses to give up and relays a charming “aw shucks” patriotic determination that captures the flavor of the original comic books started in 1940 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Rogers’ pluck gets him noticed by genius scientist Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a German scientist who defected to the Allies after refusing to hand over his secrets to the Nazis. He believes that Steve, despite a laundry list of ailments, has the moral fiber that makes him the right choice to become the first biochemically-enhanced super soldier— pitting him against Tommy Lee Jones’s Colonel Phillips, who wants a he-man soldier in the experiment. Also included in the mix is British agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who puts in a good performance but is obviously spackled in to the script as a romantic interest.

And why does the US want to create a super-soldier? To do battle with a rogue Nazi maniac named Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), aka the Red Skull, who wants to take over the world by way of a diabolical plot that he explains in great detail in the tradition of countless chatty super villains. Weaving nails the Red Skull character perfectly and chews the scenery only enough to satisfy.

The movie looks great. The production design by the Rick Heinrichs is bold and interesting, the period-specific monochromatic palette complements the storyline and mood perfectly, and the shooting style evokes World War II newsreels. This is NOT a dark, gritty, bleak superhero movie a la Christian Bale in the Batman franchise. One of the most impressive special effects is the least noticeable. During the first part of the movie, Chris Evan’s head is digitally attached to a scrawny actors body to simulate his per-transformation self. It’s really quite amazing for its seamlessness.

As mentioned previously, the storyline is nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s got a lot of fun built into it and moves along at a good clip. While we don’t get really deep into any of the characters, there’s enough development for us to care during the more poignant, quieter scenes. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely did a nice job with the script, and it should be noted that Joss Whedon performed an uncredited polish. Like the story overall, the action scenes are fun and engaging, but far from groundbreaking. I saw the movie while sitting next to a group of (well-behaved) young boys, and the action seemed to keep them focused and non-fidgety. So, I’ll call that a success.

Ultimately, I’d give Captain America: The First Avenger a solid B grade, perhaps even a B+. The movie knows its audience and does right by them, while being enjoyed independent of its Avengers franchise. If you’re looking for a fun, feel-good action film, then this is a pretty good pick.

Oh … and as it is with all of these movies, wait until after the credits at the end of the film. There’s bonus footage from The Avengers.

Captain America: The First Avenger

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