Special Review
This review is a special request from Patreon supporter BodaciousCNO. If you'd like to support me on Patreon, click the button below. Visit PatreonAfter working as an actor for many years, Clint Eastwood transitioned to directing with 1971’s Play Misty for Me. While he continued acting, Eastwood would go back and forth between going in front of and behind the camera. 1992 saw the release of Eastwood’s largest directorial effort, Unforgiven, which won the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. His career in the 1990s exploded as he directed five more films and a music video during the decade. Around the end of the decade, Eastwood got a script from writers Ken Kaufman and Howard Klausner about space exploration. Clint initially planned to star and produce, but when potential directors dropped out, he decided to take on that role. With a budget of $65 million, Eastwood set out to make an effects-heavy film, something he’d never done before. In August 2000, Space Cowboys soared its way onto theater screens in North America.
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Synopsis
NASA discovers that a Soviet communication satellite, IKON, is decaying from orbit and is about to crash onto Earth. Unfortunately, none of the engineers know how to work with the satellite’s outdated technology, so they seek outside help. Agent Sara Holland (Marcia Gay Harden) goes to recruit former engineer Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood) to assist them. Corvin agrees if they also recruit his former teammates from “Team Daedalus,” which attempted to fly men to the moon. Among the team are William “Hawk” Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), Jerry O’Neill (Donald Sutherland), and “Tank” Sullivan (James Garner). Their former boss Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), who’s now a project manager, wants the team to shadow younger astronauts. However, once the press gets wind of what’s happening, the four will be working alongside the younger astronauts. Once the team launches into space, they soon learn they’ve got something more significant in-store.
Review
Space Cowboys is an entertaining drama with some science-fiction elements, featuring some of Hollywood’s finest actors. Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner make the film worth watching. They feel like old friends with a long history together, and it’s great seeing them work together. Each guy has their defining characteristics, such as Sutherland being a ladies’ man and Eastwood arguing with Cromwell. The rest of the cast is also great, particularly Marcia Gay Harden and James Cromwell. A romance develops between Jones and Harden, which comes out of nowhere, but they make it believable. Once they enter space, the film switches genres, but it’s built up to where it doesn’t feel out of place. The visual effects have held up surprisingly well for a movie made twenty years ago, and the CGI looks good. The finale is exciting and has some hard-hitting moments.
Admittedly, the plotline is somewhat cliche, being a story of old guys coming out of retirement for one last job. The movie follows the typical tropes, such as the clash between young and old and doubts about the mission’s success. Plus, when the other team members are being recruited, none seem to second guess whether they should join. It feels a little too convenient, which takes away any sense of urgency, and deflates the tension. Despite the use of tropes, there are some genuinely shocking moments, especially in the finale, that you won’t see coming. It helps that the cast has so much charisma that it makes up for the cliche story. There is some padding at slightly over two hours, but the movie flows at a decent pace. Overall, Space Cowboys isn’t anything new, but the likable cast and decent effects make it worth a watch.
Buy Space Cowboys from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Qp0RbN.
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