John Favreau directs a film with a title that should just thrill the little boy in every grown man. And with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in the lead, how can you go wrong ? The strong, silent types – James Bond and Indiana Jones – join forces to film a movie with an unlikely and amusing premise…It’s circa 1850 and nobody has even heard of out of space creatures. It’s
a twist from the norm when it turns out that its aliens causing problems for cowboys instead of Indians.
Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) is wanted in several states and he’s about to be turned over to a federal Marshall. Jake is used
to a life where men eat beans by the campfire, and swig whiskey to clean a bullet wound, though that doesn’t explain the odd metal cuff on his wrist. The one that to us – looks like something Cyborg, but the one to him, that looks like something he’s not wired to understand. Jake’s also not certain why he’s sharing a jail cell with Percy (Paul Dano) the wise-mouth
son of the Colonel (Harrison Ford)whom we’ve yet to meet. Apparently they think Jake’s killed somebody named “Alice” not to mention he’s in big trouble for arson, stealing gold, and any other crime a cowboy could commit.
And then there’s the spooky girl dressed like something out of Ralph Lauren’s prairie spring line. She’s named Elle (Olivia Wilde) and she stalks Jake in and out of the saloons always asking “I need to know where you came from.” The western version of “Take me to your leader” one supposes. She herself looks like an alien with big glassy blue eyes (seems to be the trademark the casting director had in mind for anybody starring in this film including Daniel Craig.)
With great direction and great detail Favreau delivers a movie that puts you in the mindset of a really old-fashioned western and then drops in space creatures. It works for most of the time, until the tiring ending where by the time the cowboys finally find what they’re looking for, and the music gets sappy, we aren’t really involved in any of their lives outside of Jake’s. And let’s face it…Jake (Daniel Craig) is better to look at when throwing punches then when he opens his mouth. Although does it matter if he has any dialog? With the way he looks in those leather chaps, who cares. Three tiaras