Blast in the past

Director: Jon Favreau,
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell

A dirty cowboy (Craig) wakes up in the desert with a strange metallic bracelet on his wrist and no recollection of where he is or even what his name is. Riding into the ramshackle town of Absolution, he discovers that he is actually a notorious wanted criminal, sought by the town’s no-nonsense Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford).

After dispatching a trio of head-hunters looking to collect a handsome reward and falling out with Dolarhyde’s idiot son, the mysterious stranger is thrown into jail. Just when it appears the crazy colonel is about to get his man, alien spaceships launch an attack on the town, grab a bunch of citizens and force the two grizzled men to team up against a common enemy.

Based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name, Iron Man director Jon Favreau is back to his best and as ridiculous as it sounds, the film totally works.

The contrived storyline is made believable by some solid performances, a cleverly-written script, great costumes and first-rate alien effects – it’s also intriguing to see Harrison Ford given the chance to play a gruff bad guy for once.

If you like cowboys, and if you like Aliens, then look no further. This film does exactly what it says on the tin – a ripping good ride.

Genre: Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Age Restriction: PG-13
Runtime: 118 min