They trained body and mind for America's leap into space. When the moment came, the brash flyboys of Team Daedalus were replaced. Now, 40 years later, another moment has come. And this time, it's all theirs.
Directing for the 22nd time and starring for the 42nd, Clint Eastwood leads a stellar cast into orbit in this exhilarating high-tech adventure. Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner join him as old-school test pilots whose grasp of outdated technology makes them the only ones able to repair a primitive, deorbiting Russian satellite that imperils Earth. Strap in for "some of the rightest stuff around" (The Wall Street Journal). With an irresistible payload of heart, humor and heroics, Space Cowboys is all-systems-go.
(28 votes)
2.
Space Cowboys is a slice of cornball Americana that's so much fun you'll be tempted to stand up and salute. Director and co-star Clint Eastwood manages to turn what might have been ludicrous into a jubilant tribute to age and experience, and Space Cowboys succeeds as two movies in one--a comedy about retired pilots given one last shot at glory and an Apollo 13-like thriller with all the requisite heroics. With a dream cast of Hollywood vets playing old farts described in tabloids as "The Ripe Stuff", the movie jumps from a 1958 prologue (establishing their lost bid for space travel) to 40-plus years later, when the retired Air Force aces (Eastwood, James Garner, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones) volunteer to rescue a falling Russian satellite that only Eastwood's character can repair.
It turns out that Russkie bird is a Cold War leftover equipped with live nuclear warheads, and the movie revs up to a rousing climax in which our heroes prove their mettle. But first the comedy: watching these codgers struggle to pass NASA's physical tests is a total hoot, with running gags about wrinkles, dentures, and oysters for sagging libidos. (Sutherland is the scene-stealer, but they're all having a blast.) Once in space, the movie gets down to business, and the visual-effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic provide stunning vistas from Earth's orbit; a shot looking down at the boot of Italy is particularly beautiful. A sub-plot involving a weasely NASA administrator (James Cromwell) is rather perfunctory, but it hardly matters. Space Cowboys earns its wings, once again demonstrating Eastwood's comfort with any genre he chooses. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
On the DVD: Even though it boasts no sub-title like "Special Edition," this DVD has some of the nicest extras you'll want to see. There's nearly an hour of behind-the-footage material, all of it superior made-for-cable featurettes so often included on DVDs. The technicians divulge little tricks of the trade, revealing more computer effects in the film than you think. Longtime Eastwood editor Joel Cox provides insight into the director's work routine. The highlight, though, is an extended version of the four principle's appearance on The Tonight Show with Leno providing some interesting comments on how he chooses what films will "appear" on his show. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com
(16 votes)
3.
In 1958, the members of Team Daedalus, a cocky unit of top Air Force test pilots, were ready to serve their country as the first Americans in space. When NASA replaced the Air Force for outer atmospheric testing, Team Daedalus was pushed aside and a chimpanzee named Sam got the honor. The team retired, but the dream of going into space never died.
Now, 42 years later, Frank Corvin (CLINT EASTWOOD), Hawk Hawkins (TOMMY LEE JONES), Jerry O’Neil (DONALD SUTHERLAND) and Tank Sullivan (JAMES GARNER) have been reunited. A satellite Frank designed, code-named Ikon, has suffered a systems failure and, if not repaired, will slam into the earth at more than 300 miles per hour. Ikon is a Russian relay station. It doesn’t respond to Mission Control and blowing it up would cause a massive communications blackout throughout the Soviet Union. Scrambling for a solution, NASA resolves to mount a special mission to make the repairs in space. Unfortunately for NASA, there’s only one man alive who can do the job. This is the chance of a lifetime. Frank Corvin will take the deal and he wants the only crew he trusts to do the job with him.
Frank, Hawk, Jerry and Tank stretch the rules and strain the patience of Eugene Davis (WILLIAM DEVANE), their Flight Commander, as well as their much younger counterparts, Ethan Glance (LOREN DEAN) and Roger Hines (COURTNEY B. VANCE). Seasoned veterans with an attitude, they relish the opportunity to show their stuff. They will be tested and they will need every ounce of strength and resourcefulness to make it through their abbreviated training, complete their mission and stop Ikon. The heroic challenge has arrived.
Let the countdown begin.
(15 votes)
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