Cowboys & Aliens Likely to Be Latest Defeat for Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens is just the latest movie being sold on the promise of its title. In fact, it is hardly the first unique title with "alien" in its name, after the likes of Monsters vs Aliens and the Alien vs Predator spinoffs. They also have another thing in common- in these super powered showdowns, the aliens always seem to be the ones who lose.

Although Cowboys and Aliens isn't out yet, no one should really give the invaders a shot against Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. But the E.T's should be used to that by now, as they always seem to get co-billing in these vs/and titles, yet are never able to win them.

Dreamworks' Animation cast monsters and a giant human girl as the heroes and victors over just one evil spaceman. Before that, even one of the most famed alien creatures of all time didn't get a fair shake against the Predator monsters, and that showdown could have gone either way. However, despite having four solo movies to the Predator's two, along with two bone-fide classics in its franchise, the Alien couldn't win even when it wasn't facing Ripley.

Technically, since the Predator is a monster from another world, an alien did win in that clash. But all it got was to be on the losing side next time, as it had to be beaten by Adrian Brody, of all action heroes, in Predators. Unless it faces creatures who can pop out of a human's stomach, these hunters can't win- but at least they are undefeated in "vs" movies.

Outside of these massive showdowns, aliens still haven't gotten much of a break lately. They destroyed the earth until they got to L.A. in Battle: Los Angeles, and one of them didn't have much luck hiding out in a small 1970's town in Super 8 either. For that matter, Martians couldn't even get away with stealing a bunch of mothers in Mars Needs Moms. But at the least, they still have control of Earth at the moment on TNT's Falling Skies.

Perhaps after starring in the biggest movie of all-time in Avatar, creatures from other worlds are coasting a bit following that massive victory. They certainly can't coast on the box office gold of alien robots, especially since the Transformers series isn't really giving them a good name. But at least those movies have one robot species that's winning battles.

This losing streak isn't due to a lack of trying or effort, as the creatures have invaded in several different ways. They went into animation to take on monsters, challenged another famous movie species, and went back to the 1870's before anyone ever thought about outer space. But that will probably make their defeat in Cowboys and Aliens that much worse, especially since they face an aging Harrison Ford and an amnesiac Daniel Craig, and are still big underdogs.

Why do aliens always have to lose when they are placed in these marketable movie titles? Maybe the last laugh is ultimately on the studios that make them lose, since despite the best efforts of Monsters vs Aliens, Alien vs Predators, Snakes on a Plane and Hot Tub Time Machine, titles alone cannot make a film a hit, or good beyond the name.

So if Cowboys and Aliens bombs out, despite having Indiana Jones, James Bond, and the director of Iron Man involved, perhaps Hollywood will have to change the formula next time and give the other worlders a shot at victory.