When the four members of Project DAEDALUS, the créme de la créme of the American Air Force test pilots, get the chance to go up into space – 40 years after they thought they were going to – their desire is still there, but can their aging bodies cope with the task? That’s the conundrum that faces old-timers Frank, Hawk, Jerry, and Tank as a Soviet satellite in need of repair becomes a goodwill mission for NASA. However, more is at stake here then their health or pride, particularly as their old boss – with whom they are not exactly on friendly terms – is running the show at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Then they have their own personal feuds to contend with… it ain’t easy, growing old…

Meet the Main Crew

Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood) – he designed the guidance system on the troubled satellite – but how did it end up on a Soviet satellite in the first place? He long ago fell out with Hawks, and has a personal grudge against Bob Gerson, who isn’t mad about him, either. Constantly accused of not being a team player.

Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones) – one of the best pilots in history, but can he and Frank patch things up enough to get through their training without killing each other? (That’s if the training itself doesn’t kill them first…)

Jerry O’Neill (Donald Sutherland) – still charming the ladies just as much as when he was young, Jerry is a structural engineer who more recently has been designing roller-coasters.

Tank Sullivan (James Garner) – swapped his miniature Hawaiian dancer for the Church, but doesn’t take much persuading to join the crew as his sermons will be a lot more interesting that way.

Meet the Rest of the Team

Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) – not popular at all with Team DAEDALUS, but he must be dealt with if they are to go up in space. His past may catch up with him… then again, maybe it’s his present he should worry about…

Eugene Davis (William Devane) – the Flight Controller, not about to be taken for a ride by any of the above so they mustn’t upset him too much. Would much rather have his own team on board, including cocky young astronauts Ethan Glance (Loren Dean) and Roger Hines (Courtney B. Vance) than the golden oldies.

Sara Holland (Marcia Gay Harden) – the Engineer in charge of the project, will she end up siding with Frank and the gang or Gerson?

There are a few other relatively important characters, but naturally the whole film revolves mainly around the first four with the others making regular appearances. The best thing about the film is the fact that there are some brilliant older actors here and a script that skilfully weaves humour into the dialogue, which keeps things flowing along. Without the humour this would have been a really boring film because of the slow pacing (which is understandable considering one of the main aspects of the film is that the main characters are not as young as they once were.

The performances overall are great, though William Devane and Marcia Gay Holden were somewhat variable. Part of this is due to the major plot twist towards the end of the film, and unfortunately this actually pulled the whole film down for me. The film was a nicely humorous look at some old guys beating the institution and was plodding along very nicely when the film decides it wants to be a political thriller, which doesn’t work at all. The plot twists, including the main one, are very obvious and I can’t see anyone being taken by surprise with any of them. Also the Russian General in this film, his character and motives, are taken directly from the most unsubtle propaganda films of the cold war era. These elements combine make the last twenty / thirty minutes or so seem rather uninteresting and foolish, whereas they are supposed to be the most tense in the film.

I enjoyed the film easily enough to recommend it but the ending was very silly and it could have been better. Still, having James Garner, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones and Clint Eastwood together in a film is almost worth watching it for in itself, and the long lead-in to the disappointing ending was extremely enjoyable. The music score was pretty good and the effects were good on the whole (though they looked quite un-special by today’s standards in a few places), and Eastwood’s direction was assured for the most part. A fast pace wasn’t needed for this film and, in fact, might have spoiled it given the premise.

Overall Space Cowboys is an enjoyable and somewhat different film that’s well worth a look, but don’t expect the ending to be up to much.

Other Information

Runtime: 130 min (probably a little too long in this case)
Rating: PG (UK) PG-13 (USA), probably for the language


Links

More space adventure can be found in Apollo 13, in which Loren Dean from this film has a small part.

See also: Top Ten Science Fiction Films

Another nice film with old guys against the establishment that I think you’ll enjoy if you liked this one is End of the Line

Clint Eastwood also directed and starred in the excellent Million Dollar Baby



Recommended: Yes