6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys are all that stand in their way.
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam BeachAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 53% |
Comic book | 26% |
Western | 8% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
D-Box
Mobile features
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
If you missed President of Universal Studios Ron Meyers' brutally blunt assessment of his studio's performance at the Savannah Film Festival earlier this year, well... he didn't exactly lay the groundwork for Cowboys & Aliens' forthcoming Blu-ray release. "We make a lot of sh***y movies. Every one of them breaks my heart." Whoa. Land of the Lost? "Just crap. I mean, there was no excuse for it. The best intentions all went wrong." Ouch. The Wolfman? "One of the worst movies we ever made. Wolfman and Babe 2 are two of the sh***iest movies we put out. We all went wrong. That’s one we should have smelled out a long time ago. It was wrong. The script never got right, the director was wrong, Benicio stunk. It all stunk." Wow. That's... refreshingly frank. And Cowboys & Aliens? "Wasn’t good enough. Forget all the smart people involved in it, it wasn’t good enough. All those little creatures bouncing around were crappy. I think it was a mediocre movie. We misfired. We were wrong. We did it badly, and I think we’re all guilty of it. I have to take first responsibility because I’m part of it, but we all did a mediocre job and we paid the price for it. It happens. They’re talented people. Certainly you couldn’t have more talented people involved in Cowboys & Aliens, but it took, you know, ten smart and talented people to come up with a mediocre movie. It just happens." Let that all sink in for a minute and meet me after the screenshot.
"Whether you end up in Heaven or Hell isn't God's plan, it's your own. You just have to remember what it is."
Cowboys & Aliens might disappoint, but its AV presentation does anything but. Universal's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is outstanding, without any serious issues to report. Between Matthew Libatique's sand-blasted Arizona Territory palette and Favreau's eye for posse dust-ups and blazing explosions, colors are rich and accurately saturated, skintones are gorgeous (or grizzled when called on), contrast is dark but perfectly suited to the genre-mashing action that unfurls, and black levels are dead on. Detail doesn't falter either. Stubble is as refined as desert underbrush, fine textures are well-resolved, Favreau's CG invaders showcase every last shard of metal and scorch mark, and delineation, though not entirely revealing, is excellent, regardless of whether the sun is high or the night threatens to blot out what little light there is. And, aside from some minor crush and altogether negligible ringing, there isn't any artifacting, banding, aliasing or smearing to get worked up about. Cowboys & Aliens looks, in a word, fantastic.
And it sounds even better. Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track splits the heavens and shakes the Earth with an aggressive, commanding and welcome assault on the senses (well, two of them at least) that won't soon be forgotten. LFE output is both assertive and nuanced, lending convincing weight and presence to every attack, crashing ship, hurling debris, thundering gallop, gunshot and energy blast that tears across the screen. The rear speakers are a blast too, with ample directional effects, immersive atmospherics, slick pans and believable acoustics to boot. And dialogue never gives up any ground, even when the battles are at their most intense. Voices remain clear and intelligible throughout, lines are never lost in the madness (unless they're meant to be), and the slightest sonic minutia are given the same stellar treatment as the film's most deafening gunslinging and heartiest explosions. When it comes to Universal's lossless mix, Cowboys & Aliens will blow you away.
Meyers hit the proverbial nail on the head: despite all the talent involved, Cowboys & Aliens is a mediocre misfire. It isn't a complete waste, but it isn't a complete success either. The same can't be said of Universal's Blu-ray release, though. I doubt even Meyers could find a problem with it. Its video transfer is terrific, its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is packing serious heat, and its supplemental package is generous and thorough. Say what you will about the film, it at least deserves a spot on your Netflix queue or among your Redbox reserves. You may even like Cowboys & Aliens enough to make its Blu-ray release well worth purchasing.
DVD Packaging
2011
2011
2011
Theatrical Edition | Rental Copy
2011
2011
Extended Edition
2011
2011
2011
2013
Limited Edition / Reprint
2018
2008
2007
2013
2016
2011
2017
2012
2013
The Richard Donner Cut
1980-2006
1999
Extended and Theatrical versions
2011
Unrated
2011
The Richard Donner Cut 4K
1980
1971
2013
2018
2019