An aging Russian satellite is threatening to wreak havoc, and Clint Eastwood is the only guy alive who knows how to fix it. He won't do it without his sixtysomething buddies, who all got screwed over for their big chance to go into space, 40 years ago. Yep... that's the premise. It sounds dumb, it is dumb, but they make the best of it in a film that turned out surprisingly well.
This is the movie Armageddon could have been: fun and exciting with just enough credibility to keep the whole thing together. But wait, there's more!
Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner each have enough charisma to carry a picture, on their own. The combination of all four is a real bonus. The film wisely takes extra time to build their characters up and take us through the trials and tribulations of four old geezers trying to train for a space mission and compete with the younger alternate crew. There's plenty of comic potential here, and they put it to very good use. This movie would have worked well as a comedy even if the shuttle had never lifted off.
Which is not to say that the space action isn't way cool. Once in orbit, the film shifts gears and gets more serious. I don't think I'll be ruining any of the suspense if I tell you that they get a lot more than they bargained for with their mission. The Russian satellite is big, dark and eerie, and it hides some very sinister secrets. That aside, the technical details are relatively realistic and down to earth... so to speak. (The word "laser" is never once mentioned.)
The special effects are as they should be, creating a spectacular and convincing environment while drawing little attention to themselves. This might be the first space movie ever to take a few extra moments to treat us to some jaw-dropping views of our home planet. Hooray!!
The last ten minutes seem a bit rushed (cliches and all), but at 2 hours and 15 minutes, they must have been worried about the film running too long.
Nit picking aside, Space Cowboys is a success. The characters work. The special effects work. The plot (mostly) works. I chuckled, I held the edge of my seat... I was entertained. This is far and away my favorite Clint Eastwood project in recent memory. It may not go down as a classic for all times but it's good, solid entertainment for your hard-earned moviegoing money.