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Movies & TV

14th Aug 2024

A fun twist on a Western movie is airing on TV tonight

Stephen Porzio

The film comes from the director of Iron Man.

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Wednesday, 14 August) is Cowboys & Aliens, the 2011 Western sci-fi from director Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man 1 & 2).

It centres around an amnesiac gunslinger (Daniel Craig) wearing a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist who wanders into a frontier town called Absolution.

He quickly finds that strangers in the area are unwelcome, and no one does anything without the approval of the tyrannical Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford).

“But when Absolution faces a threat from beyond Earth, the stranger finds that he is its only hope of salvation,” the plot synopsis reads.

“He unites townspeople, outlaws and Apache warriors against the alien forces in an epic battle for survival,”

Co-written by Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus, The Hunt), the cast of Cowboys & Aliens also includes Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano, Sam Rockwell and Walton Goggins.

The movie underperformed at the box-office and earned mixed reviews from critics, with some taking issue with its genre-mash up and tonal shifts. As such, the film has become a bit forgotten.

We’d argue though that Cowboys & Aliens’ cool premise, its striking imagery and its incredible talent both onscreen and off makes it worth seeking out.

The movie is airing on TV tonight on Film4 at 9pm. It is also available to buy on Sky Store.

Here are the other movies on TV tonight:

Tomorrow Never Dies – ITV4 – 9pm

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) seeks to stop a power-mad media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) in this 007 entry from 1999.

Rabid – Legend Xtra – 10.45pm

A so-so remake of acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg’s ’70s body horror of the same name.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration – Legend – 10.50pm

The underseen action sci-fi movie gem we recommended recently.

Meet the Parents – Film4 – 11.20pm

Robert De Niro shows off his comedy chops in this fun movie about the horror of meeting your girlfriend’s parents.

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