Simon Dillon reviews the film

There are cowboys, there are aliens, and it's a lot more entertaining than some reviews are suggesting. That more or less sums up this deeply silly film from Iron Man director Jon Favreau.

In fairness, it's easy to understand the snooty response. After all, Cowboys & Aliens is supposedly based on a joke that Steven Spielberg made whilst trying to maintain secrecy during one of his productions: "We're shooting a movie about an alien invasion in the wild west". But, as Favreau was later quoted to say, the genius of Spielberg is that even his jokes get turned into movies. Yes, I know the credits claim it's based on some obscure comic book series, but the fact that he made the joke is what got the film green-lit. At least, that's what I prefer to think.

The story - such as it is - involves notorious thief Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) turning up in the desert apparently suffering amnesia. He is wanted by the law, but local ranch owner Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) has his own reasons for wanting him dead, after he publicly humiliated his ne'er-do-well son Percy (Paul Dano). The mysterious Ella (Olivia Wilde) appears to know the reasons behind Lonergan's amnesia, but is saying nothing. And that's when the alien abductions begin.

From this point - once Lonergan and Dolarhyde are forced to put their differences aside and team up together to get their people back - Cowboys & Aliens becomes a great deal of fun. A posse is formed containing a colourful selection of well chosen stock characters, and although the plot becomes increasingly ridiculous (amusingly acknowledged by Harrison Ford during one particularly laugh-out-loud moment), it is never boring. Favreau throws up a few genuinely unexpected images - the upside down steamboat in the desert for instance, which nicely references Close Encounters of the Third Kind but in a far more subtle way than in Super 8. Furthermore, the performances are all decent, both from the leads and from the smaller characters. It hardly needs saying that the visual effects are spectacular, and Harry Gregson-Williams contributes a fine music score.

In addition, this is much tougher and harder-edged than one might expect, which really gives the film a sense of suspense amid the silliness. It is clear from the outset that not everyone is going to make to the end credits alive, and all the main characters have effective, albeit predictable, story arcs.

From a moral/spiritual perspective there are equally predictable lessons about prejudice and the dangers of judging by appearance - not just with the main characters but also with the obligatory (and frankly tedious) post Dances with Wolves Native Americans, who are as always depicted as exclusively noble beings without a malicious bone in their bodies. There is, however, a generally positive Christian role model in a local town preacher who joins the posse and offers spiritual guidance. There are also themes of sacrifice, death and resurrection, but these are not explored in any great depth, nor indeed is this a film where viewers are likely to come out of the cinema pondering deep spiritual matters.

Furthermore (spoiler warning ahead), I can't help thinking the ending might have been better if the main characters had simply picked up their old grudges where they had left off once the alien menace had been disposed of. That might have provided a far more incisive insight into human nature. But then I suppose such irony would have been too dark and risky for a summer blockbuster movie.

In short, this is no masterpiece. But it is a film with cowboys, and aliens, and a lot of enjoyable mayhem.