I personally had some what of high hopes for this movie; the combination was different and the previews looked promising, regardless of the ridiculously blatant title that had some people scoffing. In this movie, we kind of follow a man (later to find out that his name is Jake Lonergan, played by Daniel Craig) who doesn't remember who he is or what happened, but we find things out with him throughout the movie through flash backs he experiences. He ends up in the fearful town of Absolution, that gets raided by these monsters/aliens. Jake, who just got arrested for who they say he was in the past, becomes their only hope because of the metal wrist cuff he mysteriously sports, that just so happens to be a powerful weapon also, and teams up with a couple of the town members, as well a woman named Ella Swenson (Olivia Wilde) who seems to know something about Jake that he himself doesn't at this point.
General Thoughts:
Ah, where to begin? I really hoped this would be a great movie but by the end I was a bit disappointed. I mean, it was shot really well, and they really captured the feel of those western movies, which I enjoyed (despite some of their forced accents). However, I feel the movie really lacked in the story department.
The element of mystery was evident ever since the beginning, as it should, and continues as we receive puzzle pieces of information throughout the movie. The pieces start coming together but they never form a complete picture. Hardly anything was elaborated upon, leaving us with only vague ideas that we just had to accept and move on, none of which was wrapped up in the end either. That was my biggest complaint, even forgiving the "lame" parts that basically all alien movies carry anyway. And also, can I take this moment to say that I hate those captain-obvious lines? Like, "They're here!". Yes, Ella, we all (including your cowboy posse) saw them.
All of that aside, I did enjoy the random humor throughout that lightened things a bit here and there (mainly put forth by Harrison Ford's character, Woodrow Dolarhyde) and there were some great scenes, including those where Daniel Craig displays just how much of a BAMF he can be.
SPOILER. If you don't want the story spoiled, don't read this next paragraph. Otherwise, by all means, indulge with me.
Let me just rant for a bit. Why is it that they pretty much elaborated nothing? Things such as where Ella really came from and why they were getting attacked, why the aliens even wanted the gold and where they came from, why they were taking the townspeople and killing them like they were, as if they were test subjects, and can someone please explain to me the purpose or meaning that random hummingbird held? We're just left there like, "Oh okay, a place beyond the stars, sure", "Oh they're here for the gold; Haha, funny joke, Mr. Harrison Ford!", and "Oh no! Killing of hostages! Oh phew, Jake saved them." It's as if the writers just didn't want to put the extra effort to tie things together. All I'm saying is, there better not be anything like a sequel.
And what parts did I find extremely lame? Ella dies and they wrap her and put her in the fire, which she ends up walking out of the fire saying, "I never told you this, but I'm different. I'm not from here, I just took this form." Okay, the concept of that is fine, but I really think they could have explained or shown who she was some other way. Again, going back to the lack of elaboration and details. Also, the part where the Native American chief gives Jake some magical potion that restores his memory in order to find where the aliens' 'headquarters' were located.
SPOILER END/
Overall:
It was alright. It was shot really well and I was interested in many parts, but the story line was really plain for me. It just lacked any kind of detail or elaboration. If you can forgive that, and the cheesiness like in pretty much all alien movies, you'll enjoy it. The picture was very nice and Harrison Ford's character was a hoot.
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