Susan Granger’s review of “SPACE COWBOYS” (Warner Bros.)
In a season of admittedly disappointing features, now there’s a terrific reason to orbit the box-office: Team Daedalus. Back in 1958, they were the bravest, boldest, fastest Air Force test pilots – until they were grounded so that NASA could send a chimpanzee into space. Now, 42 years later, the Russian satellite Ikon has suffered a systems failure that the Russians insist will cause a total communications blackout. Since Ikon has the same guidance system as an early American Skylab, its designer, played by Clint Eastwood, should know how to repair the antiquated technology. Only, he won’t go into space without the only crew he trusts: fearless pilot Tommy Lee Jones, astrophysicist/ladies’ man Donald Sutherland and robotics expert-turned-Baptist preacher James Garner. But first these geriatric hotshots have to get through training and fulfill the physical requirements for spaceflight. Because of the buddies’ humorous bantering, this part is hilarious. Even the obvious clichŽs seem to have a fresh spin. Then the countdown comes and the real challenge begins. Written by Ken Kaufman & Howard Klausner and directed by Clint Eastwood, each character’s strengths and weaknesses are so well delineated that you have an emotional investment in their success – and survival. After a slow start, the first two-thirds of the story is light-hearted, while the final third is suspenseful and serious. There’s nothing but class and quality in this wonderfully performed production, a high-tech action-adventure that’s perfect for family viewing. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Space Cowboys” blasts off with a irresistibly exciting, adventurous 8. ‘Fun’ is the operative word for this crowd-pleaser.
