Cowboys & Aliens
Stream
Rent & Buy
A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde, he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival.
What critics thought
Critics landed all over the map on this one — some found it a surprisingly committed genre mashup that plays its absurd premise admirably straight, while others saw it as two mediocre movies bolted awkwardly together. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford drew consistent praise, but the aliens themselves were widely panned as underdeveloped and generic, and the tonal friction between western and sci-fi modes was the central sticking point.
“a mediocre western clumsily welded to a mediocre alien shoot-'em-up”
Andrew O'Hehir·Salon
“Cowboys & Aliens mashes up genres with a staunch dedication to getting everything wrong, making sure that each scene is more inane than the one that preceded it”
Nick Schager·Slant
“beneath all the state-of-the-art special effects beats an old-fashioned heart, one that prizes both of the genres in play”
Peter Debruge·Variety
“Ford, enlivened by dude garb, seems to enjoy himself in front of a camera for the first time in decades”
Nick Pinkerton·The Village Voice
Genres
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller, Western
Cast & Crew
Jon FavreauDirector
Daniel CraigJake Lonergan
Harrison FordWoodrow Dolarhyde
Olivia WildeElla Swenson
Sam RockwellDoc
Adam BeachNat Colorado
Paul DanoPercy Dolarhyde
Noah RingerEmmet Taggart
Keith CarradineSheriff John Taggart
Clancy BrownMeacham
Walton GogginsHunt
Abigail SpencerAlice
Ana de la RegueraMaria
Harry Gregson-WilliamsComposer
Roberto OrciWriter
Alex KurtzmanWriter
Damon LindelofWriter
Mark FergusWriter
Hawk OstbyWriter
Steve OedekerkWriter
Matthew LibatiqueCinematographyCowboys & Aliens
A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde, he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival.
What critics thought
Critics landed all over the map on this one — some found it a surprisingly committed genre mashup that plays its absurd premise admirably straight, while others saw it as two mediocre movies bolted awkwardly together. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford drew consistent praise, but the aliens themselves were widely panned as underdeveloped and generic, and the tonal friction between western and sci-fi modes was the central sticking point.
“a mediocre western clumsily welded to a mediocre alien shoot-'em-up”
Andrew O'Hehir·Salon
“Cowboys & Aliens mashes up genres with a staunch dedication to getting everything wrong, making sure that each scene is more inane than the one that preceded it”
Nick Schager·Slant
“beneath all the state-of-the-art special effects beats an old-fashioned heart, one that prizes both of the genres in play”
Peter Debruge·Variety
“Ford, enlivened by dude garb, seems to enjoy himself in front of a camera for the first time in decades”
Nick Pinkerton·The Village Voice
Genres
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller, Western
Cast & Crew
Jon FavreauDirectorDaniel CraigJake LonerganHarrison FordWoodrow DolarhydeOlivia WildeElla SwensonSam RockwellDocAdam BeachNat ColoradoPaul DanoPercy DolarhydeNoah RingerEmmet TaggartKeith CarradineSheriff John TaggartClancy BrownMeachamWalton GogginsHuntAbigail SpencerAliceAna de la RegueraMariaHarry Gregson-WilliamsComposerRoberto OrciWriterAlex KurtzmanWriterDamon LindelofWriterMark FergusWriterHawk OstbyWriterSteve OedekerkWriterMatthew LibatiqueCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy