The Gun Counter

I've talked to several people I know who regularly go to the movies and so far, not a one of them has any desire to see a movie where aliens mix it up with cowboys of the old west. The reviews I've seen in the papers read better as entertainment as they BLAST the movie and it's creators/producers for coming up with something so completely lame it's difficult to put into words.

Regarding the movie and Harrison Ford's performance in it, one writer had this to say:

She advises Jake, “You have to stop thinking.” That must have been the writers’ mantra when they scripted a sacrificial preacher, a comically inept Mexican, a boy and his dog, a hummingbird who inspires Jake’s erotic flashback, a wry storekeeper (Sam Rockwell), a sneering weasel (Paul Dano), a generic sheriff (Keith Carradine), and a pompous cattle baron (Harrison Ford).

Ah, Ford — the smoking brand on this cow butt. So grizzled and gnarly that he makes Jeff Bridges in True Grit seem a demure debutante, Ford gargles dialogue as if trying to swallow his dentures. In a tender moment, he informs the boy that he learned to “be a man” by slitting a guy’s throat. And then, with a crazy-coot glint, he gives the kid his knife. Ford also has the story’s sanest line: “Well, that’s just ridiculous.”

Of have a few people seen it but prefer to not admit their time and money would have been better spent somewhere else???

Meh. They wanted me to buy into the idea that a species that can travel the reaches of space, advanced weaponry, and all that other good military stuff and [spoiler]can't detect 60 or so humans headed their way to come destroy their base[/spoiler].

It was o.k.

I enjoyed it for the shoot-m-up 'splody stuff. However, there was lots of stuff that simply didn't make sense:

[spoiler]Like an inverted riverboat in the middle of nowhere with no explanation as to why they would do that.
Like technologically advanced aliens depicted as naked, knuckle-dragging apes complete with growling and roaring.
Like an alien scout party that apparently doesn't have a radio because they have to personally report back that they found a really cool planet.
Like no explanation why the indians would haul the dead girl back to their camp and toss her body into the campfire.
And, etc.[/spoiler]
But, did I mention that the 'splody stuff was pretty cool?

Flintlock Tom wrote:I enjoyed it for the shoot-m-up 'splody stuff. However, there was lots of stuff that simply didn't make sense:

[spoiler]Like an inverted riverboat in the middle of nowhere with no explanation as to why they would do that.
Like technologically advanced aliens depicted as naked, knuckle-dragging apes complete with growling and roaring.
Like an alien scout party that apparently doesn't have a radio because they have to personally report back that they found a really cool planet.
Like no explanation why the indians would haul the dead girl back to their camp and toss her body into the campfire.
And, etc.[/spoiler]
But, did I mention that the 'splody stuff was pretty cool?

Is it "ticket price" worth of cool? Is it 3-D cool or just regular blow-up-shit cool?

Haven't seen it, but Movie Bob's reviews are usually pretty good.

I will chime in and say it was goodish. 2.5 - 3 out of 5

I liked the splodey bits and I think that "13" (from house) the female actress is really hott in a flat-chested way.

I also like steampunkish stuff so I was entertained.
Fair warning: someone else paid for my ticket.

But my parents enjoyed it and are completely unaware of steampunk. The did also poke holes in some of the obvious plot gimmicks / oversights.

I'm getting the vibe here to wait for it on DVD/Netflix etc and watch it at home?

randy wrote:I'm getting the vibe here to wait for it on DVD/Netflix etc and watch it at home?

I've gotten that vibe from every movie this summer...

It was no blockbuster masterpiece, but it wasn't that bad. I'd be prepared to bet most of these critics have never seen a B-Western or had it occur to them that the character stereotypes were used on purpose.

But yeah, the aliens do make less sense the more you try to make sense of them.
[spoiler]Explanation:
As monsters, they are quite well done, but fail to sell themselves as having the kind of ruthless intelligence that would enable them to launch an interstellar campaign of strip-mining conquest. The two biggest failing points are:
A) at no point do the aliens do anything that can really be described as outwitting the good guys; they take advantage of superior technology but they don't employ anything approaching sophisticated tactics. No ambushes, no bribing the locals, no feints, bluffs, or decoys of any kind.
B) Really, you would think they'd be better prepared for the attack on their base. In the end, they do very well as monsters, but they're horrible aliens.[/spoiler]

George guy wrote:It was no blockbuster masterpiece, but it wasn't that bad. I'd be prepared to bet most of these critics have never seen a B-Western or had it occur to them that the character stereotypes were used on purpose.

But yeah, the aliens do make less sense the more you try to make sense of them.
[spoiler]Explanation:
As monsters, they are quite well done, but fail to sell themselves as having the kind of ruthless intelligence that would enable them to launch an interstellar campaign of strip-mining conquest. The two biggest failing points are:
A) at no point do the aliens do anything that can really be described as outwitting the good guys; they take advantage of superior technology but they don't employ anything approaching sophisticated tactics. No ambushes, no bribing the locals, no feints, bluffs, or decoys of any kind.
B) Really, you would think they'd be better prepared for the attack on their base. In the end, they do very well as monsters, but they're horrible aliens.[/spoiler]

So what, you think they're more like zombies from outer space??