Movies-TV

Old codgers show the young-uns how its done!

Okay--it is a viable genre--the old codgers who come to save the day and don't use the new fangled computers that the young-uns are dependent on--etc. This is the top of that genre--Donald Sutherland displays why a younger woman would go for an older man--his aplomb, lack of shame and frank yet respectful worship of female beauty are hard to resist. Tommy Lee is hilarious, Clint is always Clint and James Garner rounds out the team.


Enjoyable and worth seeing.

Hats off, hands clapping, mouth open entertainment

Clint Eastwood proves in his latest film that, despite being now in his Seventies, he is still on top on the world. Mind duel, he was still a force to be reckoned with during the last decade of the previous century, churning such films like Unforgiven and In The Line Of Fire. Well, now he has rocketed into the 21st century with Space Cowboys and he's just as smooth and fine at his craft as he's always been. As an actor and director, Eastwood is still an unmatched presence.You can probably guess the story of Space Cowboys just by looking at the poster, reading the taglines or by the cast. Eastwood is former freight pilot, Frank Corvin, who finds himself, along with his devoted fifties flying crew, called back by NASA to fix an error with a communications satellitie, which he designed. The thing is, is that these guys (Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner) are circling or past their retirement days, and they have to go to space to do the job. But that doesn't worry them in the slightest - but it does shake other NASA officials - and so they begin their long, rigorus training regime bound to take them out of this world. Clint couldn't have picked a better film to launch himself into the new millenium with. Its totally different from anything he's ever done before but totally excellent. The whole cast has a whale of a time and the four stars deserve a huge pat on their back - their characters are wonderfully humane, funny, warm and unforgettable. Watching these great veterans doing their business up there on screen, and all in each other's presence, brings a great ring of security to the film. And they've been given a hell of a screenplay. Although it ( to be fair) seems to take ages before the foursome finally blast into space, us the audience are having such a great time that we wouldn't mind if they suddenly just cancelled the mission and called the whole thing off. This is all down to Clint's direction, the cast and, of course, the script. Its wisely and neatly structured and shifts remarkably well between comedy, drama and action, which is very much how the film goes. The final furlong in space does end up as a cliche but its spectacular and exciting so it more than makes up for it. Besides, an old cliche doesn't hurt now and again does it?I, and i'm sure other IMDB users, could go on for a lot longer about Space Cowboys. It goes along with Toy Story 2 and Gladiator as the cinema gems of the year. Just take this advice (which is a bit of a cliche). Don't miss it!

Boring, predictable, too long and bad casting

I can't believe the rating this movie gets. It is by far the worst I've seen by and with Clint Eastwood. The movie is definitely 30 minutes too long, the funny parts are very predictable as well as the whole story. James Garner has not only become old as a face, but also as an actor. The leading female role is awful, she is so embarrassing (or is she realy playing the typical american woman?). The story is something between Armageddon and Apollo 13, but both of them are much better. 2 out of 10 is what this movie gets from me.

Positive comments

Good film, much better than expected. The four main characters are a very good mix. Good believable effects. Hawk's final ride is the way to go!

Improbable, but an enjoyable romp regardless

Septagenarians in Space? Why not? Hollywood has fed us less probable lines before, and at least this time, they've got some talent capable of pulling it off. Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones, and James Garner star as aging astronaut candidates who get one last chance to go into space and make history. The plot twist near the end is almost predictable, and the rest of the story is pretty fluffy as well, but it still ranks as one of summer 2000's better films. Definitely worth a look!

Fun to watch flick

Good use of character actor selection for a story line that was fun to follow.... Good use of technology that was present at that time. All of the actors were at ease with their parts. Nice message to young America that you learn from those who have life experience.I love the Asian culture who gives a tremendous review of this flick for that very reason. Good timing to show over the 4th of July Would suggest a purchase if one is interested in preserving the idea of honoring those who senior in age only.Had to be a fun project to participate in.

Buy it - Just for the scenes from space!

This might be the first movie that I actually buy. The scenes from space and the closing scene were terrific. Since I am also a 60's child I felt like one of them and the anti-establishment piece of me was really having a great time.A great wet Sunday afternoon flik from a guy who also plays jazz piano. Go Clint!

Very enjoyable as both light comedy and suspense in space

Well, I loved it. None of the actors is particularly a favorite of mine(though I do have a soft spot for James Garner), but I found the camaraderie very warm, the humor enjoyably silly, and the suspense in outer space edge of the seat and wonderfully presented. One quibble is the assumption that Tommy Lee Jones or Donald Sutherland could possibly have been chosen for the NASA program in the late 1950s -they are just way too young - Jones looks a generation younger than Garner. I'd have chosen, say, Cliff Robertson and Charlton Heston to go off with Garner and Eastwood.I can also understand women feeling that the movie's assumption that Blair Brown, Marcia Gay Harden and Barbara Babcock would naturally be drawn to men over a decade (or two?) their senior, is pretty chauvinist.I disagree with points made in other reviews: a) the men are not shown holding useless occupations now - Garner as a Baptist minister, Jones as a "flight thrill" pilot for hire, Sutherland as an engineer of roller coasters, and Eastwood as retired - nothing useless there. (In fact, was it Buzz Aldrin who did become a minister?);****SPOILERS**** b) we are told how the Skylab plans were stolen (*** spoiler***) they were downloaded by the NASA bureaucrat to his personal files and the Soviets had stolen them. Moreover, that the Soviets would load the satellite with nuclear weapons seems entirely believable. With both chemical and biological weapons, the Soviet Union went into massive production upon the signing of the treaties banning them! (Production facilities Americans are now dismantling at our cost). **********The movie could also have established better the Garner and Sutherland characters as young men - they just seem to appear. Moreover, the initial scenes of the plane going out of control is simply stolen straight from The Right Stuff (Shepherd's plane goes out of control in just the same way and for the same reasons). But these are quibbles - the movie is charming, the cast warm, believable and very likeable - the last third of the movie is wonderfully dangerous and thrilling.

Old Cowboys showing the Right Stuff!!

Clint Eastwood and James Gardner were stars back in the 50's telly with RAWHIDE and MAVERICK, and later many other vehicles. Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones made a big splash in the 70's, and have gone on to prove they are some of the best actors around today. But all are showing a little wear and tear on the leading man image, but they clearly demonstrate they are spark as tacks and still the best.
They are ageing ex-astronauts that never made it into space - a thorn in their sides. Eastwood went on to design guidance systems for the space platform. One of the communication satellite that used his system is decaying and, unfortunately, none of today's hotshots know how to fix it. So the old space cowboys get a second crack to make it into space.

All four leads give warm, funny and outstanding performances, backed by powerhouse William Devane and James Hampton.

You just cannot miss these old cowboys showing they still have the right stuff!!!

Stale and utterly predictable

This was a bad first draft of a ludicrous story. The actors somewhat redeemed it with their performances, but it's damned hard to deliver such hackneyed lines with believability, even for these folks. Normally I am not crabby about mediocre movies, but the reviews I read gave me no clue to how bad this movie was. Maybe it played better with a full house--no one laughed in the theater, but there were less than ten of us.

I WAS THERE

This film gives me some very strong emotional yanks in many directions. Its accuracies and inaccuracies (Big Deal! It's a novel!) were woven into a wonderful story that really punched me in the nostalgia glands in many ways.

The strongest was that the mission was to go up in STS-200 (Shuttle Transportation System, 200th launch). You see, I was the Launch Control System supervisor at Kennedy Space Center for STS-1 and STS-2. (Gawd, I'm as old as those Space Cowboys.)

A gang from my group of favorite actors, and a good assembly of supporting actors, make this a real piece of entertainment for young and old (even if you hadn't been where I was).

Take the kids (if you have any). It is great historical allegory laced with REAL humor.

Total lack of respect to the audience.

This movie is not only ridiculous, but boring, bad directed and way too long. It is cliches after cliches. Eastwood with no doubt made the worst movie of his career. The plot is a joke, non of the characters are believable. It is a total lack of respect. Do Not Watch This Movie.

Leisure World Set Goes on a Little Field Trip

Our Man Clint(who also directed) gets to take a little journey into space in this very entertaining film. This time he takes three other legends of the screen with him.Donald Sutherland, James Garner, and Tommy Lee Jones join him in this adventure.
The story opens (in really crisp Black and White) in 1958. Airforce test pilots are the pioneers of the space program.They are daring and brash, and seem to go through alot of expensive planes.They dream of going into space and to the moon someday. Then the unthinkable happens....Enter NASA and the replacement of the test pilots with first a monkey(how degrading) and then astronauts.
Fourty years later(and in beautiful color) they are given a shot. A Russian Satelitte, with a "primitive" guidance system is out of control and heading toward earth. Too big to capture with the shuttle, the Space Program is forced,well kinda blackmailed, into sending the designer of the system up to do the repairs.And guess who that is, yup,Clint Eastwood! He's not going without his team though, and a deal is struck(but look out there might be some loopholes in it!).
The older guys must train for and meet the physical requirements in 30 days, for what would usually be a 12 month training period. They take alot of guff from the younger guys and there are some really funny scenes of them trying to get in shape. Made me wonder if this was what John Glenn went through!
They become national news and even make an appearance on Leno, which is laugh out loud funny.
They finally realize their dream of going into space,and along for the ride are two younger and cocky astonauts(Loren Dean/Courtney Vance). They encounter more serious problems when they get to their destination. Problems that could spell disater for the world, and things get pretty tense,our guys must figure a way out.
So fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy, funny exciting, thrilling,dramtic, and sentimental ride.
These guys are supported by a fine cast. James Cromewell, their nemisis for over 40 years, Marcia Gay Harden(Meet Joe Black, their champion of the cause,and William Devane, the flight executive who has his doubts about these old guys, but secretly admires them.
The DVD(WB) is high quality. It's a beautiful widescreen picture, you won't miss a thing. The scenes in space as well as on earth are breathtaking. The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is fantastick. You are really surrounded by the sounds of the planes you'll feel the shuttle blast off, and even the outer space noises are distinctive.There's also some great special features that come with it,including some behind the scenes documentaries, DVD-ROM, but my favorite was watching the entire length of the Leno interview which was shorter in the movie.If you love this movie the DVD is well worth the price.
Get the popcorn and the TANG ready for this one...Laurie

FUNNY...BUT FOR THE WRONG REASONS

While the novelty of Tommy, Clint, Donald, and James on the screen together is mildly entertaining, I found this particular film to be rather boring. Featuring a particularly annoying opening black and white sequence with bad dubbing and wrought with every space-themed cliche' imaginable, I was extremely disappointed. This film borrows too heavily from other space-oriented films like "Contact," "Armageddon," and "Apollo 13." It's only the occasional bouts of humor (given mainly to Sutherland) that kept me from walking out. Also features James Cromwell (a great actor!) who is absolutely wasted in this film playing a character we have already seen him play many times before. All in all, despite having a great talent like Eastwood behind it, this film never rises above its genre. Personally, I'll stick with my two Eastwood favs "Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil" and "Unforgiven."

Way too predictable.

Dull scripts are nothing new to the Sci-Fi genre. The thing is; this film didn't even have good special effects to distract me from the painful predictability of the script.It was a waste of 30 minutes of my time. What can I say, I hit the "ff" about three minutes in and rarely needed to take my finger off the button for any scenes that were "important" or even funny for that matter.The sad thing is that all parties involved in "Space Cowboys" were capable of doing much better work. This film fell way short of it's potential.

A fantastic homage to some of the greatest!!!

One of the few movies that I saw back to back, now that may not mean much to you but if you watch this movie you will know what I mean. It has a very, very good cast both in the leading in the supporting roles. It delivers some of the funniest (but also very true to life) lines. Like the one when Frank (Clint Eastwood) first meets Bob Gerson (James Cromwell): "Clock's ticking, Bob. And I'm only getting older." I think the fact that everyone of us knows and understand the theme of the movie make this movie so enjoyable. We can correlate to the fact that we all are getting older and once we are older the younger ones will make fun of us. In addition there is a side of us men (sorry, ladies) that never really grows beyond teenage and that is also a very funny aspect/theme in the movie.Other factors that made me watch the movie back to back, besides the themes, the funny punch lines and all the irony involved you will get to enjoy a very stunning cinematography. The scenes in space are amazing, probably the best I have seen, the level of realism in costume and set design seem to be high. Of course the performances are nothing less than stunning and the soundtrack complements the movie very well. There will be people saying that the plausibility of the script is very thin but then what did you expect? It serves the purpose to make one of the most enjoyable movies I've ever watched.

Light but enjoyable.

Sure, it's a little corny and silly, but take it in a light heated way and enjoy the movie. It is indeed refreshing not to see endless car chases, people getting shot, and things getting blown up. A lot of funny lines by the four old timers.

Open the Airlock, I Want to Get Off.

A dopey Armageddon-esque romp for Eastwood, Garner, Southerland and Jones. The whisps of humor that escapes through these fine actors are mostly swallowed up by the large sucking sound made by the predictable storyline, questionable continunity and non-existent special effects (Why bother doing that weightless effect for the on orbit shots inside the cabin?) Mail me your $8.50 and I assure you I will put it to better use than you watching this so-called movie.

the best yet

this movie is classic Clint Eastwood. Top notch lines, acting, actors, visual and sound effects. This film deserves more like 10 stars. it is a MUST SEE.

waste of talent

Some top-flight actors in a woefully predictable space walk. When is Hollywood going to start using imagination again?