Netflix Sci-Fi Action Epic Is One Of The Most Misunderstood Blockbusters In Years, Stream Before It’s Gone
If someone told you that there’s a sci-fi Western movie that stars James Bond and Han Solo, you’d check it out, right? Well, that’s exactly what you’d get with Cowboys & Aliens, which was unfairly maligned upon its release. If you want to check out this underrated movie for yourself, you have until April 30th before it leaves Netflix.
Cowboys & Aliens On Netflix
Cowboys & Aliens is one of those movies that pretty much gives you what it says on the tin. Do you want a fun film about cowboys facing off against aliens? Then this movie is going to pretty much give you exactly what you want.
Cowboys & Aliens starts by introducing us to an amnesic gunslinger (Daniel Craig) who wanders into a town called Absolution, which is run by the dictatorial Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford).
However, the gunslinger quickly finds himself as the only hope for the town when an alien force arrives with the goal of annihilation. It sounds pretty silly, and it is, but the film definitely has a lot of fun with the premise.
Directed By Jon Favreau
Cowboys & Aliens is directed by Jon Favreau, who has since taken his sci-fi Western sensibilities to their natural conclusion with The Mandalorian. While this effort from Favreau isn’t quite as consistent as his eventual Star Wars career, it still makes great use of special effects, sci-fi and Western tropes, and its top-notch cast.
Speaking of the top-notch cast, everyone puts in a solid effort for this goofy and fun film
Top Notch Cast
To say that Cowboys & Aliens has a top-notch cast might even be putting it a little lightly. The film stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Abigail Spencer, and Walton Goggins.
Plus, there was Adam Beach, Ana de la Reguera, Buck Taylor, Julio Cedillo, David O’Hara, Raoul Trujillo, Toby Huss, Paul Ortega, and Wyatt Russell. The cast alone could be enough to sell you on watching the movie.
Steven Spielberg Involved As Well
Cowboys & Aliens was also executive produced by Steven Spielberg, who is definitely knowledgeable about sci-fi films.
Now, is the movie as good as it could be? Definitely not, as the tone of the film is fairly criticized for being a little uneven, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out.
Not Appreciated At The Time
Cowboys & Aliens certainly wasn’t appreciated much when it was first released. The movie just barely beat out The Smurfs on its opening weekend and ended its box office run with $174 million worldwide.
That might not be a bad box office take if the movie wasn’t so expensive to make, and estimates say the film lost around $230 million, making it one of the biggest box office flops of all time.
Stream Cowboys & Aliens On Netflix
Critics weren’t all too kind to Cowboys & Aliens either, with the film getting decidedly mixed reviews. The movie has since had more people come around and admit that the film is actually pretty entertaining, so don’t let the previous reactions to the movie stop you from watching it. If the movie sounds interesting to you at all, make sure to check it out before it leaves Netflix after April 30.
