FILM

USA 2011  118 mins Dir: Jon Favreau Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrsion Ford, Paul Dano, Olivia Wilde

If 'Snakes on a Plane' taught us to beware of Ronseal movie-making, at least this all-in-the-title genre mash-up delivers plenty of the promised popcorn action as James Bond and Indiana Jones team up to take on a bunch of all-purpose CGI Alien/Predators in the Old West. On the other hand, Jon Favreau's film doesn't really attempt to do anything interesting with the concept other than slap it on screen and slather it with the kind of emotional melted cheese that is executive producer Steven Spielberg's stock in trade. Yup, this is a film in which cowboys, outlaws and injuns set aside their petty differences (y'know – genocide, and so on) and become bestest friends to take on their common enemy.

Daniel Craig plays an amnesiac Old West outlaw who awakes with a curious wound and a mysterious, futuristic bracelet strapped to his wrist. Pitching up in the trembling town of Absolution, he tussles with Paul Dano, no-good son of evil cattleman Harrison Ford. But before Harrison can whup his ass, alien spaceships swoop from the sky lassoing townsfolk and varmints alike for purposes presumed dastardly. The key to defeating them is locked in Dan's malfunctioning noggin. Conspicuously ethereal, willowy Olivia Wilde, who looks as though she's on a day pass from 'Firefly', could also be harbouring a handy secret or two.

There's an 'Is that it?' revelation about the aliens' mission and some ghastly father/(surrogate) son bonding guff to endure on the way to the big generic smackdown. On the plus side, the scenes where our shit-kicking heroes engage in unequal horseback battle with Bad ET's zippy craft on the wide-open plains are pretty cool. But nothing raises this above the level of Adequate Entertainment Product. (Robin Askew)

Website www.cowboysandaliensmovie.com/

Opens Wed 17 Aug

Copyright Robin Askew 2011