Space Cowboys

Rating:
Summary: Great Hollywood Film
Review: It is really curious to me that the reviewers of this film fall into two categories, namely the intelligent and the hardly literate. The hardly literate seem to be detractors as well. There are clearly different types of cinema, and Space Cowboys admittedly falls into a category of popcorn saturday afternoon fun. Suspend a little disbelief and enjoy the picture for what it is, a good time. Note if you will that the worst reviews of this film are rife with misspellings and expressions like DOH! and gunghoness. These children (claiming Armageddon, a completely worthless piece of trash) to be better than this film is a little like saying Prime Rib can't even compare to Hot Dogs. Clint Eastwood is a master of direction, (proven, I think by Unforgiven alone) but in this film clearly had a good time as well. If you are concerned with reality, by all means Purchase Criterion's For All Mankind, a compelling view of the NASA apollo program. But for an enjoyable cinematic experience, have fun with Space Cowboys. Four GREAT actors having a good time with a good script, and great editing and sound. Who CARES if they used a jet noise for a rocket? This film has a little of everything, Enough said.

Rating:
Summary: Old School Meets Armageddon
Review: There are holes in this plot larger than the craters of the moon, but hell...I love this movie.

Part Magnificent Seven, part Right Stuff, part Armageddon, part Mission to Mars...this flick is entertaining, even if Clint Eastwood isn't the greatest F/X director around. And yes, the "get the gang back together" schtick isn't the freshest, but it's perfect for a flick where we get to see Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, James Garner and Tommy Lee Jones banter wryly off one another while sweating and puffing their way into a spaceflight to save the world.

Of course, it would have been easier to ask some geek at MIT to pull up a small program he created on his TRS-80 computer back in junior high that would have reset the satellite, but then we wouldn't get to see these guys mug it up. We wouldn't get to see Tommy Lee Jones hit on a woman half his age, Eastwood gripe about age discrimination, James Cromwell pose and preen like the archetypical Washington bureaucrat, or Sutherland seduce anything in a skirt. Of course, all James Garner has to do is talk to the people and he's all right in my book. That drawl says it all.

Its a dream camp for middle agers who were ready to go to space when that gig was young and hot, but who can only look back on those glory days and lost hope of being the first man to rocket himself to the moon on a thermonuclear warhead.

Its no "Unforgiven" or even "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" but its an old guy thing...that's good enough for me.

Rating:
Summary: Very technically inaccurate, but mildly funny
Review: Well, this film is definitely following suit for technical inaccuracies in movies. NASA wants to repair this "broken" Soviet satellite before it burns into the earths atmosphere, and then miraculously launch it back up into Geosynchronous orbit. Ok. First of all, if the satellite was originally in a GEO orbit (22,000nmi above earth) how did it get all the way down here in low earth orbit (~210nmi)?? Second, why would you want to put a military defense satellite with nuclear warheads all the way up in GEO?? Third, how the heck do thy launch it back up to the mmon at the end???? Fourth, .....awww forget it. There are a few funny scenes dealing with Donald Sutherland and some women, but I recommend that you don't even rent this movie.

Rating:
Summary: uh, no
Review: it had a few funny moments, but really it was pretty stupid and really predictable, great cast, not so great movie..not really a must see...you'll live if you miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Terence, smell my spacesuit...
Review: Space cowboys was dissapointing to me after reading all the hyped up reviews and booring at times.. The movie was presented with events and technology all available today however this made the movie completly unbelievable... to me this is just a rental movie..

Rating:
Summary: Hokey but charming film
Review: Even though the characters and the jokes and the story arc and the climax were all predictable, not to mention the utter implausibilty of it all, Eastwood had built up so much goodwill along the way that I was able to look past all the hokiness and just enjoy watching some of my favourite movie heroes poking fun at their own advancing age. I am mostly impressed at Eastwood's versatility as a director. Is there a genre of film he can't make? The special effects were dazzling and blended seamlessly into Eastwood's mise-en-scene. He's still very much da man!

Rating:
Summary: Simply Fun
Review: This one ain't brain candy. But it's one of the most fun movies I've seen in a while. It doesn't pretend to be anything profound or artsy. In fact, it's pretty much what you would expect given the cast. It's surprising to find Eastwood directing something like this. In fact, this is referred to a bit in the DVD features. The requirements of making a special effects movie (like CGI) don't sound like they would fit well with Eastwood's directing style which tends to have an almost exclusive focus on actors and story (and possibly a less than obsessive attention to detail). In other words, in making this kind of movie the work goes slowly and Eastwood likes to work quickly. But as it turns out, this is actually one of the better special effects movies, possibly because they generally take a back seat to the story.

If you want to see a movie that is simply fun, moves quickly (great editing) and particularly if you like Eastwood or Tommy Lee Jones, this movie is great. But don't expect to see 2001: A Space Odyssey or the Seven Samurai.

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing but quaint.
Review: Grabs your attention at the start, but then it tapers off and plods. Some cute scenes, mostly regarding the idea of these centenarians getting ready to be shot into space. The finale is muddled, bland, and finally predictable. Somewhat entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: THE RIPE STUFF...
Review: This is a well acted film with a stellar cast. How can you go wrong with a movie that stars Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner? Deftly directed by Clint Eastwood, it is a well made, entertaining film.

The plot revolves around a crisis in space that is triggered when a Russian satellite malfunctions and is due to collide with Earth in densely populated areas, unless someone can repair it in space. The problem is that the technology on the satellite is obsolete and no one knows how to tackle it except the inventor of that technology, retired Air Force pilot Frank Corvin, played by Clint Eastwood.

Corvin agrees to do so, but only on condition that he and his top gun crew of forty odd years ago go into space to do it themselves. Having been kicked out of the space program in 1958, he wants an opportunity for them to do what they had come so close to doing in the past. NASA agrees, but only if this now geriatric quartet can pass the physical. Their preparation for their big moment provides some laughs, as they ultimately prove themselves the physical equal of their younger counterparts and exceed them in experience and wisdom.

Permission for them to go into space is reluctantly granted, but much to their consternation, they ultimately realize they have been sold a bill of goods. Not only has NASA not been dealing in good faith with them, but they eventually discover that a much more serious problem than a satellite malfunction exists. Unfortunately, they do not discover it until they are out in space.

What happen in space will keep the viewer glued to his or her seat. There is action, pathos, tension, and heroics. It is a film that says that one is never too old for adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Super movie. Super cast.
Review: Clint Eastwood. Tommy Lee Jones. Donald Sutherland. James Garner. That's the way to start a movie. The movie starts out showing the guys as young men in 1958. They main goal is to become the first men in space, but after crashing their 3rd test plane in 10 months, they find out that another agency, NASA, has been givin' that job. The movie then fastforwards to the present. A Soviet satelite is getting ready to come down, but the Soviets are pushing to make sure that it stays in orbit because it is their only communication satelite. The engineers can't figure out how to get that technology to work as it is outdated. So they go to get help from the creator who happens to be Clint Eastwood. After initially turning them down because of his hatred for their superior (you'll find out why when you watch this movie), he finally agrees to help. His idea is to send him and his 3 buddies up. The catch is they have to pass the physicals and all other test that all other astronauts would to qualify. This is filled with Clint & Tommy Lee's characters constantly competing against one another which is hilarious throughout. Pretty soon, they are on talk shows and in newspapers everywhere and are making NASA popular again. But before they get to go up, one the crew is diagnosed with cancer. After some arguing, in which Clint believes his "enemy" is trying to keep him from going to space again, he finds out that the Vice President is insistent that they are sent into space to fix the satelite. And this is where it gets really exciting. With excellent acting, some great comedy in the beginning, and super special effects, this movie is a keeper.They constantly are making fun of their age and continually beat the odds. They also have an extended version from the movie of the guys on Jay Leno's show. It's pretty funny. Clint Produced, Directed, Starred, and also composed the beginning music for the movie. And what a terrific job he did. Get this movie and you won't dissapointed.