The cowboys: great. The aliens: not so much. There's fun to be had here, but it falls way short of the pulp classic it could have been.
- , Film4, August 24, 2011
I can't think of another premise this year that promised so many schlocky high concept thrills but delivered so little.
- Jason Di Rosso, MovieTime, ABC Radio National, August 19, 2011
Overall, a dull, overblown and forgettable farrago.
- Leigh Paatsch, Herald Sun (Australia), August 19, 2011
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.
- Ed Gibbs, Sydney Morning Herald, August 19, 2011
If you can swallow the shameless set-up, it's all highly entertaining.
- David Sexton, This is London, August 19, 2011
Favreau ... allows the material's imaginative possibilities to flare up and fade away.
- Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph, August 18, 2011
Yes, yes, cowboys punching aliens in the face can be funny. But it doesn't make this silly endeavour worthwhile.
- Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK], August 18, 2011
Jon Favreau made a really good comic book adaptation out of the original Iron Man but like every director he's dependant on a good screenplay and this one relies on clichés and having taken on this mix of genres it actually isn't wild enough conceptually.
- Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies (Australia), August 17, 2011
What started as 'True Grit'-meets-'War of the Worlds' ends up closer to - whisper it - 'Wild Wild West'.
- Anna Smith, Time Out, August 17, 2011
A simple entertainment in a summer of overcomplicated disappointments. Also much harder-edged than you may have expected.
- Dan Jolin, Empire Magazine, August 15, 2011
Admirably preposterous in its high concept idea (the title tells it all), Cowboys & Aliens makes the most of a Wild West setting and a sci-fi fantasy
- Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile, August 13, 2011
There's action and adventure, a protagonist with amnesia, a ruthless landowner, a beautiful girl with an aura of mystery, a youngster about to become a man and an Indian who believes in hoodoo. It's a fresh idea that works
- Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile, August 13, 2011
Takes itself much too seriously, with acts of brutality outnumbering the gags.
- Anthony Lane, New Yorker, August 08, 2011
Cowboys & Aliens is an agreeable time-killer, but I'll bet a couple of clever kids could make a livelier movie with a Woody puppet and a Predator doll.
- David Edelstein, New York Magazine, July 31, 2011
[A] phenomenally successful two-man war against narrative clarity and continuity.
- Christopher Orr, The Atlantic, July 29, 2011
A film that entertains, even if it doesn't live up to the full-on madness potential the title portended.
- Laremy Legel, Film.com, July 29, 2011
It wasn't unreasonable to expect Favreau ... would at least provide something that felt fresh. Cowboys and Aliens does not feel fresh. But, it does feature cowboys fighting aliens, and sometimes that's all you really need.
- Simon Miraudo, Quickflix, August 15, 2011
It's just big silly fun, the kind you're supposed to have at a summer movie with a ridiculous title.
- Tom Long, Detroit News, July 29, 2011
Over on the aliens side, it's hard to make out faces, but there's no doubt about their place of origin: These slimy, growling, bug-eyed and distinctly non-scary things are straight from central casting.
- Rick Groen, Globe and Mail, July 29, 2011
Nothing very exciting happens.
- Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News, July 29, 2011
MA15+
