Family movie night: "Cowboys & Aliens"

When I first heard of the film Cowboys & Aliens, I laughed. My husband pointed out it might be good because of the cast, Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, and Steven Spielberg’s involvement as an executive director. We saw it at the theater, and I just thought it was just OK. I can’t recall the original grade I gave it (maybe a C+). That blog has since been deleted, but I recall liking Daniel Craig in cowboy gear.

Well, we're doing a family movie night these days, and the picks are slowly moving away from the typical family films. My husband thought it would be a good action flick for our 15 year old. We invited our 11 1/2 year old to join us, since we didn’t recall anything overtly objectionable. We remembered a lot of fantasy violence – it’s a cowboy movie. I couldn’t recall much about the aliens, but as I am often reminded by my kids, I think things are way scarier than they really are. Oh, and there is semi nude scene of Olivia Wilde coming out of fire, but it’s nonsexual and appropriate for the scene. We figured if anything popped up, we’d just address it later.

I drifted off a few times while watching it a second, but I was reminded these aliens could be a little scary for little kids, but not my kids. They’re pros. ☺ These aliens were cowboy tough, a cross between the creepy aliens with the abdomens that open up from the Alien series and odd-looking robots that squirt green blood when wounded. My youngest did fine and said they really weren’t scary. But they do have a way of popping up, even when expected they can make you jump.

It’s rated PG-13 for intense sequences of western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference. Olivia Wilde’s character is called a not so nice name starting with a “W” several times by a posse of outlaws. Both kids enjoyed it, but our son really liked it. “Five stars” he proclaimed at the end of the DVD. My daughter says 4 stars.

The movie didn’t interest them in learning more about aliens or cowboys, but it did make for a fun evening. Long live family movie night.

Cheers!