The title of this new movie from Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau really sums up what Cowboys & Aliens promises to be all about. Take the hard boiled action star of the latest Bond films, Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace), and the grizzled veteran of the 20th Century’s most iconic adventure-blockbusters ever, Harrison Ford, and drop them into the middle of the old American wild west, and you already have an action packed Western worth checking out.
But wait, there’s more!
Take that Western cowboy setup and throw in some classic UFO alien invasion, backed by the heavy science fiction clout of producers Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard – not to mention writers Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek), Roberto Orci (Star Trek), and Damon Lindelof (Lost) – and suddenly this Western has blasted off into genre-blending mayhem, combining two of the most iconic (and unrelated) film genres in history, very possibly for the first time on screen.
Watch the trailer after the jump!
The trailer opens on a grim-looking Jake Lonergan, played by Daniel Craig, left for dead in the badlands of Arizona, waking to discover a strange metal device attached to his wrist. Soon enough a band of menacing outlaws brandishing guns corners the bewildered Craig, but he makes short work of them and rides off into town. Here he meets mysterious beauty Ella, played by Olivia Wilde (Tron Legacy), and finds he is a wanted man, hunted by a rather intimidating Colonel Dolarhyde, played by Harrison Ford. However just as things are looking dim for Lonergan, some eerie looking UFOs erupt from the night sky and wreck havoc on the thunderstruck old west town and its characters; blowing up buildings and abducting people with tractor beams in good old true alien invasion fashion. Naturally, Lonergan and Dolarhyde must join forces to somehow confront the alien menace terrorising the Wild West.
The concept is of course ridiculous, but its very absurdity is what seems to lend it such appeal, especially since it is an adaptation of a graphic novel. More than this, the dark tone of the trailer and the quality of the production suggests that Favreau and the film’s makers are treating it like an serious genre blockbuster, pulling out all the stops to create a sensational new event movie that people will be abuzz with anticipation over. Uniting Craig with a real action-adventure veteran like Harrison Ford is definitely an intriguing and promising play, especially with no new Bond movie on the horizon yet, fans of Craig the action star should be pleased with the potential of this crazy new movie.
The concept is fresh and bizarre, and sounds incredibly promising to say the least. Not to mention if the slate of names credited for the film’s production – all with major science fiction accolades under their belts – don’t get your nerd juices flowing, then nothing will. If nothing else, Cowboys & Aliens will be worth keeping an eye on if just to see if they can pull off such a strange but potentially blockbuster movie.
Cowboys & Aliens is due in 2011. Its Australian release date has not yet been determined.
