Cowboys & Aliens

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Cowboys & Aliens

PG-13

Released Jul 29, 2011

1h 58m

Sci-Fi

Western

Action

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Popcornmeter

44%

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256 Reviews

43%

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100,000+ Ratings

Bearing a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist, an amnesiac gunslinger (Daniel Craig) wanders into a frontier town called Absolution. He quickly finds that strangers are unwelcome, and no one does anything without the approval of tyrannical Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). But when Absolution faces a threat from beyond Earth, the stranger finds that he is its only hope of salvation. He unites townspeople, outlaws and Apache warriors against the alien forces in an epic battle for survival.

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Critics Consensus

Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are as dependably appealing as ever, but they're let down by director Jon Favreau's inability to smooth Cowboys & Aliens' jarring tonal shifts.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

From the cool special effects, to its top-notch acting and wickedly fun concept, Cowboys and Aliens is just that film that you may in fact hate to love. But it is really enjoyable.

Rated: B+

Sep 8, 2017

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

It must be said upfront that, for all its problems and script deficiencies, Cowboys & Aliens is probably the most continually entertaining effort of director Jon Favreau's still relatively young career.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 27, 2012

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Ed Gibbs

Sydney Morning Herald

There is nothing that fascinating about Favreau's treatment, nor his source material, but compared with similar blockbuster fare of recent months, this curious exercise in genre bending is very watchable.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 19, 2011

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Bill Newcott

AARP Movies for Grownups

If Sam Peckinpah had made Close Encounters of the Third Kind...(or)...if Steven Spielberg ...had directed The Wild Bunch, I could imagine it turning out a lot like this.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 1, 2023

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film serves up a serious-minded genre experiment that works, despite some lingering feelings of disappointment for its lack of raw, popcorn-munching silliness.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 9, 2023

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Martín Rodríguez

En Filme

If you're into action movies in which a hero overcomes multiple difficulties in spite of his tumultuous past, then Cowboys & Aliens is for you... [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 2.5/5

Feb 1, 2023

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Zachary Jacob S

Cowboys & Aliens is a pretty wild sci-fi western type film! Really fun! Surprised to see the lower ratings on here. The score is solid! Acting superb! And it checks all the boxes for a film like this. Goofy at times, dead serious in others. It's not the deepest film, and the characters and their development aren't put before the spectacle, but I'd still recommend!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

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Amy P

This is one of my old go to favorites!! I'm not really into westerns generally. This however is funny, dramatic, action packed and the alien aspect is awesome! The actor line up seems to be perfect and really makes the movie great 😉

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/24

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Frank S

It is what it sounds like. I enjoyed the film. I'd say it's worth a watch for some dumb fun. It wasn't offensively stupid, and the creature design was cool, (although broad daylight does the creatures no favors). The acting was okay. Daniel Craig was fine. Harrison Ford looked confused. Olivia Wilde did her best. Paul Dano did his thing. Nothing to write home about. Overall, it was much better than the Phantom Menace.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/23/24

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Audience Member

Wait, cowboys and aliens?! Phobe.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/15/24

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Gabriel G

You are welcome Bingos!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/09/24

Full Review

Carson P

What a dumbA$$ movie I remember seeing it in the theater it was soo dumb that I went out of my mind who combines western with sci fi it’s just soo soo dumb the charachters are unlikeable and as usual Daniel Craig always looks bored in his roles perhaps if they cast someone else like Nicolas cage as the main lead it would be more fun to watch in an ironic soo bad it’s good sense something like ghost rider it’s not a good movie but it’s amusing to watch in how spectacularly dumb it is the only think I liked was Harrison ford everything else besides the assaultive and cool action scenes this is a dumb alien fighting movie this came out a year before batttleship which I found more fun to watch than this ludicrous mess it wasn’t perfect in the way Independence Day was but it at least understood big dumb fun action popcorn spectacle and didn’t go to far with its dumbness this one does though and as a result it insults your intelligence just don’t bother with it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/14/24

Full Review

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Jon Favreau

Director

Daniel Craig

Jake Lonergan

Harrison Ford

Woodrow Dolarhyde

Olivia Wilde

Ella Swenson

Sam Rockwell

Doc

Adam Beach

Nat Colorado

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - We Got One

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - UFO Attack

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Alien Resurrection

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Ella's Abduction

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Blowing Up The Mothership

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Arresting the Stranger

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Not Your Lucky Day

3:31

Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Freeing The Prisoners

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Explosive Encounter

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Cowboys & Aliens: Official Clip - Night Terror

3:16

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Cowboys & Aliens: Trailer 1

1:19

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Synopsis

Bearing a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist, an amnesiac gunslinger (Daniel Craig) wanders into a frontier town called Absolution. He quickly finds that strangers are unwelcome, and no one does anything without the approval of tyrannical Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). But when Absolution faces a threat from beyond Earth, the stranger finds that he is its only hope of salvation. He unites townspeople, outlaws and Apache warriors against the alien forces in an epic battle for survival.

Director: Jon Favreau
Producer: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Screenwriter: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Fairview Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, K/O Paper Products, Platinum Studios, Paramount Pictures International
Rating: PG-13 (Some Partial Nudity|A Brief Crude Reference|Western and Sci-Fi Action|Western and Sci-Fi Violence)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Western, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $100.2M
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby SRD, SDDS

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