Cowboys vs. Aliens?!!............yawn.........

This is supposed to be a movie. Robert Downey Jr. has signed on to star and this is supposed to eventually be turned into a movie. So I thought, Cowboys and Aliens that sounds REALLY fun! They certainly thought it was good enough to make a movie out of it...So I bought it.....

I read this on a plane going over to Japan, in about 20 minutes (Its a fast read, and I'm a slow reader)

I hate to say it, but it sucked....

Imagine that really cool sounding movie from the 1980s that you watch thinking it is going to be fun, and turns out to to be boring and formulaic, (Strange Days comes to mind for me, "you mean the friend did it? Ooooo big surprise!") That's Cowboys and Aliens.

It reads like it was already made to be a movie, they already had figured out where the first and second plot points went, and what the final battle was going to be....but they forgot to tell an intriguing or even an original and interesting story. Everything just kind of happens the way you expect it too, and then its over. This is sort of the Valley of Gwangi with aliens, without the great Harrihausen stop motion and without an ounce of fun.

The story in a nutshell:

In the Old West, settlers and Native Americans wage a bloody battle for control of the land. But when the Earth is threatened by conquerors from the stars, these sworn enemies must work together to save all humanity.

I wont spoil it for you but, not surprisingly, the Cowboys win......(Sorry I just lied about not spoiling it)

The artwork was another point of annoyance. I don't know what it is about comic books artists, but when you see a professional draw a page it looks good, REALLY good. When you see someone who WANTS to be professional (but doesn't have the chops yet) everything looks sloppy and uneven...it LOOKS like a wannabe comic artist drew it.....that's what this book looks like. Boring story, bad artwork, 2 strikes against it...the only thing saving it is the idea which would have potential in the right hands.

Hopefully the movie will take the idea and turn it into something fun, but until then I have to give this:

1 out of 5 Alien Laser Six Shooters