History Film / CowboysAndAliens

** And lets not forget Lonergan fighting the aliens with their own weaponry. Even more ironic as we discover that Lonergan acquired it when an Alien took it off to dissect him, but didn't think that putting an ArmCannon next to an ''unrestrained'' human wouldn't mean he'd grab it.

** Not to mention spears,[[spoiler: the knife that Emmett receives from Colonel Dolarhyde]], and a club wielded by an inexplicably powerful, unnamed Native American who splits the skull of one of the aliens ("explodes" is probably a more accurate word here).

* GoldDiggingAliens: The aliens [[spoiler: have set up an elaborate base to mine our gold]]

* YourMileageMayVary: This troper loved ''Cowboys and Aliens'', although many of his friends absolutely hated it.

* ContrivedCoincidence: ...that everything they need to run into is pretty much all lined up on the route they take while following the trail of the alien. The riverboat, the house Jake was living in, the bandits he worked with, the Indians to help him regain his memories, and the spaceship itself, all out there in a line in easy riding distance from each other.

* CoolVersusAwesome: '''Cowboys. ''Versus. ALIENS.'''''

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Again, '''Cowboys. ''Versus. ALIENS.''''' And if that's not enough, you've got Apache warriors there too.
** So it's actually Cowboys ''and Indians'' and Aliens.

* XMeetsY

* NotUsingTheZWord: Not once is the word "alien" used.

** And lets not forget Lonergan fighting the aliens with their own weaponry. Even more ironic as we discover that Lonergan acquired when as the Alien took it off to dissect him but didn't think that putting an ArmCannon next to an ''unrestrained'' human, wouldn't mean he'd grab it.

** Then again, it is "demons" we're talking about shooting here...

* [[spoiler:PlanetLooters]]: This time, aliens come [[spoiler:for gold]].

* AllStarCast:

* AllStarCast: To those who know nothing of the comic book - and some who do know of it - trailers showed a movie starring JamesBond, [[StarWars Han Solo]], (Or IndianaJones, depending on how you get your jollies) and [[HouseMD Thirteen]].
* AntiHero: Lonergan and Dolarhyde.

* InsufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Although the aliens far outmatch the residents of the Wild West in terms of weapons and other gadgetry, they still are surprisingly primitive in many ways. Their flying machines appear to run on smoky, noisy jet engines, and they apparently didn't invest in energy shields or other advanced protection when preparing for their invasion. The very fact that the aliens can be taken down by a bunch of cowboys and Indians is testament to this trope.

* ChekhovsGun: Emmett's knife.

** Don't forget Checkhovs Dynamite!

** And lets not forget Lonergan fighting the aliens with their own weaponry.
*** Not to mention that one alien [[spoiler: killed with their gold mining technology.]]

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: [[spoiler:Ella's human form is a disguise. Her true form is never seen.]]

* 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.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: More than a few critics (and fans) think the Western portion of the story was intriguing enough, without needing aliens.