356 replies to this topic

[Miles Miservy]

I also think DC needs a better agent or direction in selecting roles. Outside Bond he has not been able to hold an audience.

I certainly think Craig's been keen to chase the box office and Hollywood A list after CR; attempting to sign on for franchises like THE GOLDEN COMPASS, COWBOYS AND ALIENS, DRAGON TATTOO being strong indicators of such.

Then again, his "indie" project, FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL - the closest film to his pre-Bond ouvre - turned out to be dire.

Whether it's Craig himself who wants desperately to join the Hanks, Cruises and Clooneys, or whether he's just been badly lead by his agent, who knows?

I agree that there's a certain symmetry to that kind of logic. I can't seem to think of any non-Bond film of Pierce Brosnan's, Timothy Dalton's nor Roger Moore's for that fact, that warrants any sort of merit.

Like the actors that preceded him, let's just let him ride the wave of success untill it crashes onto the shore of irrelevance.


Frankly, I think being the Bond star and becoming box office as a consequence is rather misleading; James Bond is the star, not the actor playing him. This is true of Craig, sadly, as it is of all his predecessors. Being James Bond does not guarantee non-Bond stardom, though I do think Craig has the greater drive, talent and the more favourable circumstances than any of the other five to achieve it.

Yes, being James Bond raises the actor's profiles to get bigger parts. Craig has received these as you mentioned, and we have Tintin and Dragon Tattoo films to come this year, it may be a case when you are Bond that you make hay while the sun shines. Brosnan and certainly Connery got successful careers, and Craig is going for that same level of success. Being James Bond makes that possible.

Saw Cowboy's over the weekend and it was an entertaining and fun enough movie. Silly in places, but you go with it, and enjoy it for what it is.

[David Schofield]

Saw this for the first time on BluRay tonight...

Absolute rubbish. What Craig saw in this is beyond me. And he admits LARA CROFT was appauling studio crap...

There probably is a Western out there in which Craig plays a silent, taciturn loner riding into town in true Clint Eastwood style. Craig has the power and mysteriousness to carry that. But this isn't it, not one where he has to share the lead and the heroics with Harrison Ford and the girl.

I can only imagine the howls of derision from CBNers had Pierce Brosnan made this between TND and TWINE...

[Germanlady]

Saw this for the first time on BluRay tonight...

Absolute rubbish. What Craig saw in this is beyond me. And he admits LARA CROFT was appauling studio crap...

There probably is a Western out there in which Craig plays a silent, taciturn loner riding into town in true Clint Eastwood style. Craig has the power and mysteriousness to carry that. But this isn't it, not one where he has to share the lead and the heroics with Harrison Ford and the girl.

I can only imagine the howls of derision from CBNers had Pierce Brosnan made this between TND and TWINE...

Someone challenged me to be negative for once - so here I go. C&A WAS rubbish indeed, but I can fill you in about the Why?

Childhood dream of playing a cowboy, working with all the talent involved. This is what bothers me - HOW could all these experienced people deliver such a film? The cript is more then weak to start with. They were all blind, I think, for whatever reason.

[deth]

Saw this for the first time on BluRay tonight...

Absolute rubbish. What Craig saw in this is beyond me. And he admits LARA CROFT was appauling studio crap...

There probably is a Western out there in which Craig plays a silent, taciturn loner riding into town in true Clint Eastwood style. Craig has the power and mysteriousness to carry that. But this isn't it, not one where he has to share the lead and the heroics with Harrison Ford and the girl.

I can only imagine the howls of derision from CBNers had Pierce Brosnan made this between TND and TWINE...

Someone challenged me to be negative for once - so here I go. C&A WAS rubbish indeed, but I can fill you in about the Why?

Childhood dream of playing a cowboy, working with all the talent involved. This is what bothers me - HOW could all these experienced people deliver such a film? The cript is more then weak to start with. They were all blind, I think, for whatever reason.

...Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa...

[Germanlady]

Saw this for the first time on BluRay tonight...

Absolute rubbish. What Craig saw in this is beyond me. And he admits LARA CROFT was appauling studio crap...

There probably is a Western out there in which Craig plays a silent, taciturn loner riding into town in true Clint Eastwood style. Craig has the power and mysteriousness to carry that. But this isn't it, not one where he has to share the lead and the heroics with Harrison Ford and the girl.

I can only imagine the howls of derision from CBNers had Pierce Brosnan made this between TND and TWINE...

Someone challenged me to be negative for once - so here I go. C&A WAS rubbish indeed, but I can fill you in about the Why?

Childhood dream of playing a cowboy, working with all the talent involved. This is what bothers me - HOW could all these experienced people deliver such a film? The cript is more then weak to start with. They were all blind, I think, for whatever reason.

...Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa...

Too easy...

[Dustin]

Haven't seen it, don't intend to either. But at a guess I'd say it's just a case of 'at the time it sounded like a good idea'.

[Double-0-7]

I watched this film last night, and at the end said to my wife "as old as Craig looks I suppose he is 30 years younger than Clint Eastwood, who really should have played this part.

With that said, the special effects were good and the leading lady is easy on the eyes. $1 at Redbox was the right price to pay.

[larrythefatcat]

I don't understand all the hate for this flick... it's a good popcorn movie, I don't know what else anyone was expecting!

Craig does well with his role, as do Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell and the majority of the cast. There were a few good action scenes along with mostly well written dramatic stuff... I think the issue is that it's not the PURE ACTION movie that a lot of people were expecting to see. Maybe the pacing is a bit too slow for modern audiences, but most slower sections of the film seemed appropriately atmospheric in their length.

Maybe I'm just crazy or, more likely, I've become much less discerning in terms of my entertainment choices.

[Dekard77]

The pacing was all wrong, a film that boasts Aliens we hardly see them or find any interest. As a Cowboy film it works but genre blending was a disaster. Predator was a far more successful movie given the creature concept and playing to the strengths of the actors. Harrison Ford steals the show and I was wondering the whole time why he wasn't allowed to lead the movie. Craig had no idea about the character he was playing.

Also the film looks extremely dark at night and hard to figure out the night attack scenes. Too many people in the cast without much to do.

[thecasinoroyale]

As a solid piece of entertainment with a great cast and some snazzy visuals and action sequences, I love this film!

Sure it's not lengendary, but most entertainment flicks aren't going to be in this high-calibre cinema time we're in, but I loved the idea of the genre mashing and the selling point was Craig and Harrison Ford in the same film.

I'll back this film all the way!

[mrevans]

I just watched it and it is a great movie. It is definitly solid. I was expecting a fun science fiction mash up and I came out with a solid movie which was actually a good western. I like that it was played completely straight and not made goofy. This really helped pull the concept off. I watched a review where it was suggested the movie would have gotten a better reaction if the title wasn't Cowboys and Aliens. There may be something to that.

[Mr_Wint]

I think they took it a little bit too seriously, especially Craig. No, I do not mean that they should remove all suspense and make the film goofy. But a little bit dark humour or sarcasm here and there wouldn't hurt. Indy 4 had aliens and Harrison Ford as well, but did it much better, IMHO.

[David Schofield]

I think they took it a little bit too seriously, especially Craig. No, I do not mean that they should remove all suspense and make the film goofy. But a little bit dark humour or sarcasm here and there wouldn't hurt. Indy 4 had aliens and Harrison Ford as well, but did it much better, IMHO.

Fair points.

I do agree there was an uncomfortable mashup between a serious Western (Criag's taciturn loner/Ford's ageing land baron with "family" issues) and the ludicrous comic-stripness of sci-fi.

There was a total absense of shock at the alien presence or space craft/spacemen. Nor was there any nice counterpoint ironic humour at the absurdity of it - frontier Western realism invaded by monsters from space - so that is remained steadfastly po-faced.

Hence the absolute rubbish of the end product, unfortunately.

[Loomis]

I watched a review where it was suggested the movie would have gotten a better reaction if the title wasn't Cowboys and Aliens. There may be something to that.

Agreed. One thing that's put me off seeing this film is that there's something smug and irritating about the title.

The other thing that's put me off is Craig looks like a wet weekend in Bolton. It's as though every film he's in is QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Lighten up, Dan! (Or as the man himself would no doubt put it: ing lighten up!)

[Dekard77]

Yes there are a few actors around who can pull off the silent Cowboy and make people root for him, but Dan failed. Ford on the other hand stole every scene he was in .

[SecretAgentFan]

Agreed. One thing that's put me off seeing this film is that there's something smug and irritating about the title.

Going a bit too far here, Loomis? Cowboys vs. Aliens is just a simple description of the good guys vs. the bad guys in this film. Clear and precise. Why does that feel smug and irritating to you?

[Germanlady]

According to what i read, DC's cowboy was fine, but the film as a whole didn't work and I agree here. Weak script IMO...

[Dustin]

Perhaps a word as to why I won't see this (unless it's on the telly and there's nothing else I want to see). While I found the idea of a genre-mix initially interesting this particular example just didn't appeal to me enough to see it at the theater or order the VOD. The bad word-of-mouth didn't help either, but I daresay positive feedback might have won me over. As it is the whole concept seemed just that tad too predictable Hollywood fare with too little 'Wow!'-content to make it look worth my time. Somewhere down the road I probably will see it in the end. But until then I suppose I haven't missed anything. On a related note, similar feelings keep me from TIN-TIN; I feel little urge to see that one, too, for much the same reasons.

[Loomis]

Agreed. One thing that's put me off seeing this film is that there's something smug and irritating about the title.

Going a bit too far here, Loomis? Cowboys vs. Aliens is just a simple description of the good guys vs. the bad guys in this film. Clear and precise. Why does that feel smug and irritating to you?

Because it sounds like all "high concept" and no real story.

[Loomis]

As it is the whole concept seemed just that tad too predictable Hollywood fare with too little 'Wow!'-content to make it look worth my time. Somewhere down the road I probably will see it in the end. But until then I suppose I haven't missed anything.

My thoughts exactly.

On a related note, similar feelings keep me from TIN-TIN; I feel little urge to see that one, too, for much the same reasons.

I'm far more interested in TINTIN. Firstly, I'm a lifelong Tintin fan, and, secondly, Spielberg usually delivers the goods. That said, I'll probably wait for the Blu-ray.

[SecretAgentFan]

As it is the whole concept seemed just that tad too predictable Hollywood fare with too little 'Wow!'-content to make it look worth my time. Somewhere down the road I probably will see it in the end. But until then I suppose I haven't missed anything.

My thoughts exactly.

On a related note, similar feelings keep me from TIN-TIN; I feel little urge to see that one, too, for much the same reasons.

I'm far more interested in TINTIN. Firstly, I'm a lifelong Tintin fan, and, secondly, Spielberg usually delivers the goods. That said, I'll probably wait for the Blu-ray.

I highly recommend you see TINTIN in a theatre. The 3D is nothing short of spectacular - and I usually hate 3D.

[Dustin]

As it is the whole concept seemed just that tad too predictable Hollywood fare with too little 'Wow!'-content to make it look worth my time. Somewhere down the road I probably will see it in the end. But until then I suppose I haven't missed anything.

My thoughts exactly.

On a related note, similar feelings keep me from TIN-TIN; I feel little urge to see that one, too, for much the same reasons.

I'm far more interested in TINTIN. Firstly, I'm a lifelong Tintin fan, and, secondly, Spielberg usually delivers the goods. That said, I'll probably wait for the Blu-ray.

I'm also a fan of Tintin, so I was almost ecstatic about the Spieberg-Jackson project initially. But I would have hoped for either a live-action route or traditional animation, rather than the CGI. I also would have preferred the project to use a completely original story instead of stiching together what they needed from the canon. Mind you, I'm sure it's not a bad film and a lot of heart's blood and passion for Herge and Tintin went into the process. Only - somewhere along the way that burning interest I felt has somehow dwindled down to mild curiosity.

[J B]

I just finished watching the movie. I thought it was pretty good, although me and my brother would honestly have preferred it to just be a regular western, as I think they really could have pulled that off more without the alien intrusion. I'm a fan of both westerns and science fiction, and Cowboys and Aliens did a surprisingly good job at mixing the two genres. The great cast certainly helped the movie too.

[jrcjohnny99]

I loved this movie; I guess I was lucky enough to see it pre-release and before the negative hype; what surprises me is how many people condemn it without having seen it. I could understand that for say, a Michael Bay film, but given the records of those involved, you'd think folks would give it a shot before jumping on the negative bandwagon; as for those who judge just because they dont like the title? seriously?

[SecretAgentFan]

The western genre is obviously not interesting for the kids - so they weren´t thrilled to see a film about cowboys. And the old guys who love a western don´t like Science Fiction - so they weren´t thrilled to see a film about aliens.

Lose-lose situation.

By the way, I bought the blu ray because I wanted to see the film (didn´t see it in the theatre due to time constraints on my side). But I still haven´t watched it. Want to be in the right mood for it.

[Safari Suit]

I loved this movie; I guess I was lucky enough to see it pre-release and before the negative hype; what surprises me is how many people condemn it without having seen it. I could understand that for say, a Michael Bay film, but given the records of those involved, you'd think folks would give it a shot before jumping on the negative bandwagon

Well, I certainly agree that people shouldn't judge a film before seeing it, but is Iron Man 1&2, Transformers 1&2, and Star Trek Reloaded really a pedigree that should lead one to assume greatness?

[jrcjohnny99]

I loved this movie; I guess I was lucky enough to see it pre-release and before the negative hype; what surprises me is how many people condemn it without having seen it. I could understand that for say, a Michael Bay film, but given the records of those involved, you'd think folks would give it a shot before jumping on the negative bandwagon

Well, I certainly agree that people shouldn't judge a film before seeing it, but is Iron Man 1&2, Transformers 1&2, and Star Trek Reloaded really a pedigree that should lead one to assume greatness?

Well, personally I would say Favreau has a pretty good record, while I agree IM2 wasn't the best, the first Iron Man was as good a summer popcorn flick as we've had recently and his other work, going back to "Swingers' has always been consistently good ; Damon Lindelof was one of the co-creators and writers of "Lost'; one of the best tv shows (and most original) of the last decade and Fergus & Ostby wrote "Children of Men", a magnificent pic. I think those are good enough credits to give the filmakers some level of trust....