Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

So...this was boring.And that is pretty odd for a movie that has "Cowboys & Aliens" as its title. Its two things that usually are pretty far from boring. I love Westerns, I love Sci-Fi, this movie should have been a serious popcorn muncher.And instead it was boring.It's starts off really cool, the wounded man alone in the desert, clearly just after a fight...and then it gives you the very real feeling that you've seen it before, the only difference is the Alien technology on his wrist.And then it hits a few cliches that you've also seen before in the troupes of Spaghetti Westerns. By then, if it hasn't lost you then you are a really a trooper.From there it goes into Science Fiction....or more science fiction...but that doesn't improve the film, you're already wondering what you're going to cook for dinner tomorrow.By the time the big reveal hits and you seen the Indians...the dinner your thinking about has turned gourmet and it's seriously going to wow your girlfriend who was kind enough to watch it with you despite liking neither genre.And by the end of the movie you want to take a nap and are wondering how something like that could have happened in a movie with "Cowboys & Aliens" as the title

Spoiler Alert, Plot details discussed. OK Coboys and Alines, very funny. like in Cowboys and Indians. I was not exactly blown away by the title. What blew me away was the first glorious shot. The cinamatography was just excellent; Wide screen and glorious, yet capturing the drama of the graphic novel visual power, ,Matthew Libatique captured the sweep and glory of New Mexicos grandest landscapes. Likewise appropriate was the fine score, reminiscent of Elmer bernstiens western sagas. Here the composer is Harry Greyson-Williams. Director Jon Favreau pulled all the elements together and created a grand but overlooked gem. As strange as the premise is, it is remarkably successful in blending the genera''s of Westerns and Science Fiction. The narrative is strange, but the star power is stellar, We watch two pros at the top of their game. Daniel Craig is the lead, a gunslinger named Jake Lonergan, awakening in the deep desert, with an iron wrist cuff. He also has amnesia and no recollection of who he is. To make matters worse, he is about to be robbed and killed by three armed bandits. The movie quickly establishes that Craig's character is not to me messed with. The Town of Absolution was built out of the vast landscape, A small town with the Saloon, jailhouse and Main-street. The good Sheriff John Taggeart, played by Kieth Carradine, The doc, who runs the bar with his hot blooded wife,is played by Sam Rockwell. Abagail Spencer and Olivia Wilde fill the female leads. The Villan here is the wealthy land Barron, Woodrow Dolarhyde. played with rugged vigor by Harrison Ford. Throw in about forty outlaw armies and the Apache nation and you have a whole solid fighting force to defeat ? what ? The western setting and mind set finds the flying machines that resemble robot dragonfles, as well as the malevolent creatures as demons. they have no other context to comprehend the invaders, who are here, looking for gold and plunder. The creatures are convincingly portrayed as ugly things with grotesque limbs that erupt from their hideous bellys. Here I had to take issue, the creators of the technology could no way be represented by this brutish pack of hunters. Where is their science. They have advanced technology but act like barbarians. There is no way a pack of cowboys and Indians could defeat them. unless. they had an inside lead, This is where the character Ella, the mysterious, played by Olivia Wilde. She is also a stranger to our planet, and knows how to defeat the evil invaders. The film builds wonderfully to the splendid climax that gives you maximum bang for your buck. thanks to the effects folks at Industrial Light and Magic. So what did I not like, Only one thing, the weak title. Hey guys, re release it but call it, "The Sorrowful Saga of Gunslinger Jake". or "Gunslinger Jake and the Demons". or "Western Spaces". anything but Cowboys and Aliens. This gets eight and a half "bravo for pulling it off" Stars out of Ten

What did people really expect from a movie with a title like this? Some sort of intellectual treatise on the relationship between the mythological Old West and beings of extraterrestrial origin? The film moves at a consistently energetic pace, is well-acted, and yes... is totally predictable.I found its predictability the most refreshingly unpredictable thing about the film. I kept thinking, "Is this where the dog dies a heroically predictable death?" That was my spoiler... the dog makes it (and we care). The title is a bit misleading. The Apaches are an integral part of the alien resistance coalition and play a predictably unpredictable part in the movie's spiritual essence (i.e. they get the hero stoned).Even the preacher was perfect. Low-key, super-nice bloke and basically an all around good guy that found the essential good in all he encountered. To be a good person you need to (in no particular order) find God, be a hero and care about someone other than yourself. It's so simple!For what it is, this is a really good movie.

I saw this movie when released for television. Considering the title, I expected to change channels pretty fast. What's more, I'm no fan of Daniel Craig. But, surprisingly, I enjoyed it all the way to the end. Of course, it's all very silly and predictable, but such comments would apply to a whole lot of movies out there. I'm actually more amazed by the critics here about the film. I don't know how such a movie deserve a 400 words or so critique, especially if the conclusion was 0 star. I'm told the writers couldn't come up with a good story, or that the actors were so and so Well, it's not Casablanca for sure, or Gone With The Wind. It's just a movie, entertaining, leave your mind in the lobby style and laugh in the wrong places if you must. Bring in the Aliens, the cowboys and the Indians, six shooters, arrows, lances, ray guns and what not. In my opinion all the superheros movies out there are just as predictable and silly. And for once, for all it's worth, I even enjoyed Daniel Craig this time around.