Space Cowboys

Release Date: Aug 13th, 2000

Cast :

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 Glenn’s 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-Xer’s 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 50’s/early 60’s.  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 doesn’t 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 he’s 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 Eastwood’s 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 isn’t given too much support to his story.  Thus, he’s 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. Garner’s 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 person’s 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. ($$$ out of $$$$)

Agree? Disagree, Questions? Comments?

Tell Me Here

Also see my reviews at:

Cast information and links courtesy of

Go To Reel Rambling Page