by Morgan Drake Eckstein

Created on: August 07, 2011

There is a saying among science fiction writers that science fiction is always about the present. Given the title Cowboys & Aliens, and noting that it is set in the Arizona Territory (1873), it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what contemporary issue this movie is addressing.

The basic plot of the movie, Cowboys & Aliens, is that a stranger (played by Daniel Craig), who can’t remember who he is, wakes up in the desert armed with an advanced weapon which enables him to save us from the evil extraterrestrials invading our world. The movie is filled with plot cheats, besides the magic weapon, there is a preacher who thinks that a man’s past does not matter (Clancy Brown), and a woman who knows too much (Olivia Wilde). And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Given the massive weight of deus ex machina present in the movie (approaching infinite improbability), one would hope that the political commentary is better than the plot and characters. It is not. The only non-Americans present are American Indians and an English-man (yes, Craig). The history student in me is well-aware of the inaccuracy of that population data. It is a stereotype that only the most conservative history unaware person would be comfortable with. 

One of the most uncomfortable and unrealistic scenes is when the mistreated servant (Adam Beach) of the rich ex-Colonel cattle baron, Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) convinces the American Indians to work with the Americans to drive the extraterrestrials off the planet. The servant’s argument is that the cattle baron is a good man, despite the fact that he mistreats his servants and employees. The fact that the two military fighting styles can complement one another is just a cherry on top of the heap of indignation that one might feel at that point.

One might ask what is so important that extraterrestrials had travelled undisclosed light-years to get to our planet. Gold. Yes, gold-which the aliens supposedly find as precious as humans do. Something that they are willing to take our lives over.

Now I might be wrong about the issue that this movie is exploring. Maybe it is not about illegal immigration, and aliens taking the money of good hard working Americans. But the literature student in me challenges the moviegoer to come up with a better suggestion.

My personal proof is that from a purely science student viewpoint (multiple college programs I have suffered), there is a lot of gold contained in space. Several asteroids contain more precious metal than the entire decade worth of the United States gross domestic product. Any species capable of traveling light-years would have the technology necessary to mine it; they would never have to step foot on our planet.

Given the clumsiness that the deus ex machina and the political message is delivered, I must label this a leave your brain at home popcorn movie. At most, I would pay three dollars out of ten to see it again. 

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