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One more ride on the rangeOld stars shine in funny, thrilling 'Space Cowboys'
(CNN) -- Call it "Grumpy Old Men In Outer Space," or an "Armageddon" for geriatrics. No matter how many senior-citizen jokes you come up with when talking about "Space Cowboys," the film has more. Clint Eastwood produced, directed and stars in this highly enjoyable romp of a flick, recruiting Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland to play the creaky men in space. Their combined ages equal 259 years; the boys, and the script, never let the audience forget that fact for a moment. To quote Eastwood's character, "The clock's ticking, Pops, and I'm only getting older." The film begins in a black-and-white flashback with younger actors playing the four members of Team Daedalus, the best, the bravest, and the fastest test pilots in the United States Air Force at the dawn of the space program. But that was back in 1958, and when NASA takes over atmospheric testing, it replaces the pilots with a chimpanzee. The sky jockeys quit. But their dreams of going into space never does. A threat from aboveFlash forward 40 years and meet Frank Corvin (Eastwood), Hawk Hawkins (Jones), Jerry O'Neil (Sutherland) and Tank Sullivan (Garner). Their days as Team Daedalus are just a memory, something as faint as a contrail in the blue. They're mostly retired and scattered across the country. Then duty calls. Through a series of plot twists - they're best left unexamined -- Corvin becomes the only man in the world capable of preventing Ikon, Russian satellite, from crashing into the earth. It seems he designed the antiquated quidance system for the satellite, a system which somehow came into Soviet hands at the height of the Cold War. But that was four decades ago. Now the Russians are America's partners in space, and Corvin's old boss and nemesis, Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), calls him for help. Corvin promptly uses the opportunity to blackmail the bureaucrat into reuniting Team Daedalus to save the day. There is plenty of comic relief as the boys prepare and train for their heroic journey. Their physical examination by a female doctor is hilarious. Never in the history of cinema has more wrinkled naked flesh been displayed on screen. The rear ends of these four Hollywood stars are mute testaments to the relentless power of gravity. Action, dramaYet once the mission has been launched, "Space Cowboys" shifts into warp speed, and what was simply a comedy becomes a first-rate action/adventure film. Again, many of the plot twists -- provided by screenwriters Ken Kaufman and Howard A. Klausner - are best if left unexamined. It's unclear who's the intended audience for this film. Warner Bros. apparently is hoping Ensure-swilling Eastwood fans will turn out in droves, while younger viewers will be attracted by the subject matter and special effects. The film had full cooperation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and it shows. Authentic uniforms, flight simulators and miles of high-tech equipment all add to the reality. Marcia Gay Harden turns in a nice performance as NASA Mission Director Sara Holland and William Devane also co-stars. But it's the four leads that make this film fly. Watching these self described "old geezers" gleefully shoot for the stars is a joy to behold. After all, 259 years of experience is nothing to sneeze at. "Space Cowboys" opens nationwide on Friday, August 4 and is rated PG-13. 2 hours, 14 minutes. "Warner Brothers, which produced the film, is owned by Time Warner, which is the parent company of CNN." RELATED SITES: S P A C E C O W B O Y S |
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