Space Cowboys
Release Date: Aug 13th, 2000
Cast :
Clint Eastwood | .... | Frank Corvin |
Tommy Lee Jones | .... | Hawk Hawkins |
Donald Sutherland | .... | Jerry O'Neil |
James Garner | .... | Tank Sullivan |
James Cromwell | .... | Bob Gerson |
William Devane | .... | Eugene Davis |
Marcia Gay Harden | .... | Sara Holland |
Director: Clint Eastwood
Hollywood loves to tackle
the attempt to recapture the youthful spirit inside all of us.
Cocoon is the best example, but even movies like Grumpy Old Men
show that audiences love to see the battle of young vs. old.
Space Cowboys is a spirited, yet wholly unoriginal look at the
attempt of 4 men to recapture their deserved glory, and show up
their younger counterparts. A script and story based upon
historical events, namely John Glenns return to space, and
the failures of Skylab and Mir, steals shamelessly from its
counterparts. However the energy of the performers, and the
beautiful look overshadow this, and take this film to infinity,
and just a bit beyond
The plot is simple enough
to follow, touching on historical issues, while appealing to a
broad base of fans, from baby boomers, to early gen-Xers
who remember the initial space shuttle launches. The movie
starts at Edwards AFB, 1958, where two test pilots crash in the
desert. They are part of Project Daedalus, a pre-NASA test
flight program. The leader of the program, Bob Gershon (Cromwell),
is tired of having his planes crashed, so scraps the program in
favor of chimpanzees and governmental control. Flash
forward 41 years to a Russian communications satellite, which is
failing and falling out of the sky (hints of Skylab and Mir).
The hardware on the satellite is curiously similar to that
designed by Eastwood in the late 50s/early 60s.
NASA, and Gershon come to Eastwood for ideas; Eastwood blackmails
them into sending his entire team into space again to fix it.
Capitalizing on the John Glenn space flight of a couple of years
back, the focus of youth versus age is played out, along with a
long standing bitterness between Eastwood and Cromwell, and
Eastwood and Jones. These are developed, played out,
sometimes over emphasized, but still handled and controlled.
The ageism in the movie applies to whom this film will appeal to
as well. Anyone from the inception of the space shuttle
program backwards will get the most out the film. Others
may get it, and enjoy it, but unless they are history buffs, will
fail to garner the true impact of some parts of the story. The
ending leaves some to be desired, opting instead for a
combination of political Cold War commentary, and schmaltzy
Hollywood glamorization. The effect of the story is not
lost on these final stumbles, but some of its impact is lessened.
The two things that hold this story above recent space travel
movies like Armageddon, and Mission to Mars, are the proper
combination of this story with visuals, and the energy and spirit
of the performances.
Performances Led
by Eastwood, who as director makes himself the focal point, but
he also doesnt steal the show. That sneer, which
struck fear into the hearts of criminals, and lawmen, so early in
his career, has now turned a look, which causes chills, without
words. The attitude, once fearful as well, now shows
stubbornness and spunk. Overall, Clint has aged well, and
like fine wine, so has his talent. Tommy Lee Jones matches
him nearly step for step, although hes still not stretching
his acting legs at all. He has done the embittered old
codger, who just happens to hold grudges, yet be able to back up
his words. He does it well here, as usual, but it would be
nice to see a stretch. Sutherland is just a natural, here,
playing like his character from Animal House grew up and joined
the space program. He attacks roles with that smirk that
like Eastwoods sneer has not lost its effect over the years.
It can be playful, as in Animal House and here, or wicked, as in
his wonderfully spooky turn in Backdraft. These three seem
to be having fun, and their chemistry together is near perfection.
The only downside of the foursome is Garner, who really isnt
given too much support to his story. Thus, hes not
given much room to do anything. His background is shown,
but never focused on, beyond the initial scene in the church, and
the prayer before blast off. Garners sarcastic playful
nature would have been a perfect compliment to the other 3,
characters Garner has done lately in My Fellow Americans and
Maverick. Clint should have given him a chance, and cut a
bit of the ending out to make room
Ultimately, Space Cowboys is a spirited view of the fact that age should never be a boundary in the realization of a dream. What the movie lacks in originality, it more than compensates for in the spirit and chemistry of its performers. Most children dream of reaching the stars someday, of slipping the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. Only a select few get that chance. Unrealized dreams can eat away at a persons soul, so once the chance presents itself again, it is usually attacked with an energetic vigor. This is true for the actors, as well as the characters they portray here. Had Eastwood lighten his touch just a tad bit, staying away from the sociopolitical stance and typical Hollywood endings, his film truly would have been something powerful. As it stands now, the film is still a story that spans the ages and still manages to touch the sky at certain times. ($$$ out of $$$$)
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