History YMMV / CowboysAndAliens

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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: It might look like a cool movie crossing over two things that kids love: aliens and cowboys. Even the ad services utilized for [=ThisVeryWiki=] seemed to have the same thoughts, with the ads on the movie's page being for things like [=SpongeBob SquarePants=]: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated and Sesame Street Live!. However, this isn't the case. Besides having bucketloads of violence, there's drunk characters, a few swears, tea being used as a hallucinogen and even a mention of prostitution, among other things.

* HeReallyCanAct: Noah Ringer with his performance here proving he can emote and play the drama appropriately is in a definite contrast to how [[Film/TheLastAirbender his performance as Aang turned out]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: It might look like a cool movie crossing over two things that kids love: aliens and cowboys. Even the ad services utilized for ThisVeryWiki seemed to have the same thoughts, with the ads on the movie's page being for things like SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated and Sesame Street Live!. However, this isn't the case. Besides having bucketloads of violence, there's drunk characters, a few swears, tea being used as a hallucinogen and even a mention of prostitution, among other things.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** This movie was predicted nearly twenty years ago by ''Series/ClarissaExplainsItAll''. See [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/30/clarissa-explains-it-all-predicts-cowboys-and-aliens_n_914114.html here]].
** There was [[https://spfedinburgh.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/20120323-cowboysandaliens1.jpg a strip from]] ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' about it before that.
** Creator/HarrisonFord's character criticizing the idea of [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi attacking a technologically superior enemy (who reside in a bunker, even) by running around hollering with stones and spears]].
** This film is certainly not the first time Harrison Ford has [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade co-starred with a James Bond actor.]]

** There was a strip from ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' about it before that.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Moment spent staring at the upside-down riverboat. Yes, they camp out in it, and yes the movie seems to imply the aliens are behind it, but... the fact that it is an upside down riverboat and is never explained ''and'' has no bearing on the plot - it wouldn't have made any difference to the story if they had stayed the night in an abandoned shack instead.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Moment spent staring at the upside-down riverboat. Yes, they camp out in it, and yes the movie seems to imply the aliens are behind it, but... the fact that it is an upside down riverboat and is never explained ''and'' has no bearing on the plot - it wouldn't have made any difference to the story if they had stayed the night in an abandoned shack instead.
** It falls into FridgeBrilliance territory once you figure out the real reason the aliens are there. [[spoiler:[[PlanetLooters Gold]]. And in the old west, a casino boat probably would have the largest concentration of gold outside of a mint. The reason it was upside-down in the desert was because the aliens didn't bother putting it back once they were done cleaning it out.]] It probably would have been more obvious if the group had bothered investigating the ship more than "It's weird, but let's head in there since it's raining and nasty out and we need somewhere to sleep."

* CoveredUp: There is a near-identical TV movie from mid 00s ''on the exact same premise'', sans aliens being after uranium ore rather than gold. But that was a NoBudget TV movie, rather than an AllStarCast blockbuster.

* TaintedByThePreview: There are many reports of theater crowds, upon seeing the trailer for the first time, bursting into the laughter and dismissing the film just because of its name.

* AccidentalInnuendo: An alien is killed when molten gold is dripped onto him. In other words, he gets a ''[[FreudWasRight golden shower]]''.

* HeReallyCanAct: After appearing in the widely panned ''TheLastAirbender'', Noah Ringer shows himself as a promising young actor.

* HilariousInHindsight: This movie was predicted nearly twenty years ago by ''Series/ClarissaExplainsItAll''. See [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/30/clarissa-explains-it-all-predicts-cowboys-and-aliens_n_914114.html here]].

** Harrison Ford's character criticizing the idea of [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi attacking a technologically superior enemy (who reside in a bunker, even) by running around hollering with stones and spears]].
** This film is certainly not the first time Harrison Ford has [[IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade co-starred with a James Bond actor.]]

** There was a FarSide strip about it before that.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: RogerEbert and others felt that the cowboy story was more interesting ''without'' aliens being involved.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: People in TheWildWest are being exterminated and driven off their land by foreign, technologically superior invaders [[spoiler:who are there for the gold]]. The presence of [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans Apaches]] starting at the halfway mark only makes [[ManifestDestiny the comparisons]] more obvious.

* SoOkayItsAverage: General critical consensus seems to be that it was a decent movie, but considering that it had Film/JamesBond and [[StarWars Han Solo]] as cowboys fighting alien invaders, it should have been ''awesome''.

* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch: A ''lot'' of people panned this movie immediately just because of [[AudienceAlienatingPremise its name.]]

* TaintedByThePreview: See ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch above. There are many reports of theater crowds, upon seeing the trailer for the first time, bursting into the laughter and dismissing the film just because of its name.

* SoOkayItsAverage: General critical consensus seems to be that it was a decent movie, but considering that it had JamesBond and [[StarWars Han Solo]] as cowboys fighting alien invaders, it should have been ''awesome''.

* HateDumb: just search for reviews that thinks the show is stupid because the writers does not what gold can do in modern science.

** This film is certainly not the first time Harrison Ford has [[IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade shared co-starred with a James Bond actor.]]