ROLL M |
Space Cowboys (starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner, Donald Sutherland, James Cromwell; written by Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner; produced and directed by Clint Eastwood; rated PG-13.)
This movie is proving to be the sleeper of the year. I missed it when it opened during the summer, and decided to catch it recently. Having avoided it for some time, thinking it was going to be the Over-the-hill-Gang in Outer Space, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was wrong. This is a great movie. Yes, Clint, Tommy, Jim and Don are aging in a society that is very prone to ageism (ironically, this is most often true when it comes to Hollywood talent). But audiences seem to be growing a little more adult in venerating our movie stars who are approaching their sunset years. (See last month’s review of The Crew for more on seniors in film.) And no one can put together a picture quite like Clint Eastwood.
Space Cowboys begins with that tried-and-true flashback technique – a visit to the past in black and white (remember Pleasantville?) It’s 1958 and these guys have the right stuff, only a chimp has even better stuff, apparently, as they are denied their chance to push the envelope in NASA’s space program. Cut to the present – now in color – and we see the lives our heroes have been living for the past 40 years. This alone would be interesting enough, but now a Russian satellite is about to crash to Earth, and only our heroes can save it. Okay, the plot’s a bit contrived, but the characters are interesting and hold your attention until the actual trip into Earth orbit, replete with the best special effects Industrial Light and Magic can muster. This is a space trek definitely worth taking.
FOUR AND A HALF OWLS OUT OF FIVE