Space Cowboys was certainly influenced by the recent journey into space by John Glenn. Take that real life drama, add some viagra, a bar fight, and four acting icons, and you have a good time.
Space Cowboys begins with an introduction to the early days of space exploration more than a decade before Neil Armstrong left his print on the moon. This opening sequence, filmed in black and white, introduces Will Hawkins and Frank Corvin. Corvin promises his partner Hawk that one day they’ll make their way into space. It doesn’t look good as the Air Force soon closes their program in order for NASA to take over the government project. The opening sequence finds two lookalikes who eventually grow up to be senior citizens played by Tommy Lee Jones (Hawk) and Clint Eastwood (Corvin). The funniest thing was that the actors who play the young Jones and Eastwood have their voices. One even has Eastwood’s signature mole about his lip and squinty eyes.
As we are fast-forwarded to the present, we find that NASA has a bit of a problem. The Russians have a huge satellite that is falling to earth and only one option: fix it in orbit. There is one month to take care of the problem and NASA may have to make a deal with the old folks’ home to get it done.
NASA director Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) was the guy who took space out of reach for Hawk and Corvin when they were with the Air Force. He’s the same guy at NASA now that doesn’t want them to go and fix Corvin’s technology, which is in the dead duck satellite. Corvin knows that in order to make his dream of space exploration come true, he has to make a deal with the dirty NASA director. The deal is that his team, Team Daedalus, must fix it together. One problem: these guys are ancient! And in order to get into space you have to complete rigorous tests to qualify. This makes for some fun scenes as Corvin’s original four men work together for a handful laughs and tense moments.
The best thing about Team Daedalus is their differences. It’s these differences that make them a good functioning team. Frank Corvin (Eastwood) has a bad reputation for not being a team player. He is more of a button up guy who does it by the books without doing it by the books, if that makes any sense. Then there is Frank ‘Hawk’ Hawkins (Jones) who is pretty much the anti-Corvin. He is the rebel who flies by the seat of his pants. Corvin and Hawk have many confrontations, but deep inside you feel that they’re somehow bonded and they know it. Jerry O’Neil (Donald Sutherland) is the resident genius and also the horny old guy. Tank Sullivan (James Garner) is now a priest who comes aboard for his amens and more. Together they aren’t as stiff as their ages would seem to indicate. They balance out together well. If it weren’t for this fantastic foursome, I don’t think the film would have made it out of the studio.
After all the training and testing, they get into space. This is what you’ve waited the whole film for. I have to admit it’s quite a typical Hollywood film when you get to this point. It’s got the designated curveballs, chaos, and edge of the seat moments. It’s all about sacrifice, and these guys are ready to make the ultimate one when it comes down to it. This is where the film changes from average to good. If you wait it out until this point, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
+ charlie craine
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