COWBOYS & ALIENS
(PG-133)
MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
The entire ride that “Cowboys & Aliens” had from script to screen is fascinating. If you asked people at the beginning of 2011 to name their most anticipated films of they year, this would have been up there. However, when the movie finally came out, people cried foul, saying it was nothing more than a cheesy western with aliens.
I ask, what else did you expect from a film titled “Cowboys & Aliens.” I happened to like it, appreciating the relatively cliched western story of a stranger who rides into town to eventually shake things up with the bad guy who is terrorizing the town. The difference here is that while the grumpy cattle rancher and his pissant son starts out as the bad guys, the real bad guys appear as aliens searching for gold and mind-slaves.
Looking slick and featuring some nice action scenes, “Cowboys & Aliens” is a fun ride. I wouldn’t suggest watching the extended cut available on Blu-ray and DVD (as that 16 minutes to the already drawn-out running time), but it’s an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
The Blu-ray comes packaged with the DVD and also features Universal’s Second Screen for use with the pocketBLU app. Other features include interviews with director Jon Favreau, a commentary track, plus a long-form, multi-part making-of feature (including the spots “Finding the Story,” “A Call to Action,” “Absolution,” “Outer-Space Icon” and “The Scope of the Spectacle”).