Clint Eastwood’s “Space Cowboys” (2000) was a comeback for the legendary filmmaker and a project that initially seemed like a guilty pleasure.
It emerged as a substantial and hugely enjoyable work.
When it was first announced that Eastwood was playing an astronaut, alongside Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland, the response was, understandably, cynical. It sounded like Eastwood was making a broad comedy about the elderly, selling out in the way Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau had with their silly “Grumpy Old Men” (1993-1995) vehicles.
“Space Cowboys” isn’t a comedy but it’s not “Firefox” (1982) either. It avoids being akin to a Jack Lemmon/ Walter Matthau farce but is still intentionally funny enough to play like a motley and jovial variation on “The Right Stuff” (1983).
It begins in 1958 and introduces young lookalike actors playing the big names (Eastwood, Garner, etc.) but the dialog is dubbed with the voices of the actual stars. This proves to be an interesting but strange attempt to convert the no-name performers into younger versions of the actors.
Eastwood would have been better off getting lookalike actors (like the prologue of Phil Alden Robinson’s 1992 “Sneakers” or the beginning of Mike Flanagan’s 2019 “Doctor Sleep”).
The story introduces how “Team Daedalus” was established and needed to be regrouped decades later. We get Eastwood as Colonel Frank Corvin, Lee Jones as Col. Hawkins, Sutherland as Capt. O’Neill and Garner as Capt. Sullivan, all retired pilots and astronauts who are prepped for a mission to stop a satellite from crashing into Earth.
The plausible plot device to bring in the old guys: Corvin designed a guidance system that is so out of date, he’s the only one who can fix it.
Works for me!
I liked the angle the screenplay gives the characters – Garner’s Sullivan became a minister, Sutherland’s O’Neill builds roller coasters and Lee Jones’ Hawkins, in the best character intro, is a daredevil pilot for hire. The justification for getting these four into orbit is only slightly less ridiculous than why a squadron of oil drillers were selected to save Earth in “Armageddon” (1998).
The pacing is patient, without feeling slow or overlong, which is no small feat for an effects-heavy, sci-fi tale that is in no rush to blast into outer space.
“Space Cowboys” was another of Eastwood’s big comebacks in a decade where his big hits (like “Unforgiven” in ’92 and “The Bridges of Madison County” in ‘95) bailed him out when worthy, intriguing misses like “A Perfect World” (1993) and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (1997) found critical acclaim but baffled audiences.
The surprise box office success of “Space Cowboys” led to “Mystic River” (2003) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004), as well as admirable stretches like “Hereafter” (2010) and “Sully” (2016).
Eastwood’s airtight tough-guy performance is everything you want it to be, though his best performance of the 1990s is still his fantastic, richer than expected lead turn in Wolfgang Peterson’s “In the Line of Fire” (1993).
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Garner’s best performance during this era remains “The Notebook” (2004), though he’s game and very funny here. Sutherland, rather endearingly, grins shamelessly in the background of many scenes, as he appears to be having so much fun.
Rade Serbedzija, a terrific actor and so good in “Eyes Wide Shut” (199), is on hand to play a Russian quasi-villain, but far better is a livewire William Devane, unafraid to dig into his co-stars. The Eastwood v. James Cromwell scenes, in which they play old rivals, have bite, though it doesn’t match the crude joy of James Woods tearing into Eastwood in “True Crime” (1999).
Eastwood certainly knows how to entertain and even has the audacity to give all four of the big stars a nude scene. Yet the character humor stops short of going really broad with the jokes. On the other hand, Eastwood is clearly aware of his audience, as early on, someone actually says, “Put a sock in it, sonny!”
The use of the “Space Cowboy” N’Sync song, both in the trailer and during a hero strut, is amusing. Did Warner Bros. think they needed to go the extra mile to entice teens lining up for “Mission: Impossible II” the same summer?
Turns out they needn’t have bothered, as the crossover appeal kicked in. Turns out, quite surprisingly, that “Space Cowboys” hit big with the audience who grew up with the actors and also for my generation, who knew the leads from “Dirty Harry” (1971) and “The Fugitive” (1993).
After the amusing build-up and an extended training segment, it becomes a mission in peril adventure. Jack N. Green’s widescreen cinematography is excellent, as are the ample ILM effects in the third act.
Even for a film that is 25 years old, the spectacle of the grand finale is splendid.
“Gravity” (2013) and “Interstellar” (2014) are currently in pole position for best 21st-century film depicting space travel (though I wouldn’t count out James Gray’s 2019 “Ad Astra,” either). Still, “Space Cowboys” is fun, satisfying and sharper than expected.
Sure, it’s contrived, but still succeeds by leaning into character rather than the potential to make it an easy yuk-fest about aging in the space industry.
Leave it to Eastwood to make a better-than-expected popcorn movie. Like John Huston, Eastwood’s amazing directorial body of work showcases films made in every genre.
The wonderful closing shot is perfect. As a film about American mythmaking and the space program, that final image isn’t just a great thematic capper but a perfect way to end a story this big.