- Film Review
- Reviewed By Alan Jones
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3 out of 5
This self-deprecating and winningly indulgent cosmic adventure from director/producer/star Clint Eastwood is a complete macho-fuelled fantasy set in the ultra-realistic world of Nasa operations today. With an irresistible premise - four elderly astronauts finally get the chance to go into orbit 40 years after being sidelined by a monkey - this slice of gung-ho wish-fulfilment is an entertaining feel-good pleasure. Eastwood's Team Daedalus is called back into service because no other has the obsolete knowledge to prevent a Cold-War era Russian telecommunications satellite from crashing to Earth. There's absolutely no point in taking anything seriously in this hi-tech Peter Pan fable. Even the space-set climax, brilliantly constructed by Star Wars supremo George Lucas's company (Industrial Light and Magic) from actual photographs, space shuttle footage, miniatures and digital animation, lacks any real thrills or suspense because the outcome is obvious from the start. But Eastwood and his co-stars shine as the ageing spacemen, wheezing through basic training, navigating past feuds and becoming all-American heroes. Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner also reveal the right stuff as well as the true meaning of star charisma and career longevity.
Plot Summary
Space adventure starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner as four ageing ex-pilots who, in their youth, were passed over as astronauts. But when an old satellite malfunctions, the old-timers are finally given the opportunity to go into space.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Frank D Corvin
- Clint Eastwood
- Hawk Hawkins
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Jerry O'Neill
- Donald Sutherland
- Tank Sullivan
- James Garner
- Bob Gerson
- James Cromwell
- Sara Holland
- Marcia Gay Harden
- Eugene Davis
- William Devane
- Ethan Glance
- Loren Dean
- Roger Hines
- Courtney B Vance
- Doctor Anne Caruthers
- Blair Brown
- Jay Leno
- Jay Leno
- General Vostov
- Rade Serbedzija
- Barbara Corvin
- Barbara Babcock
- Young Frank
- Toby Stephens
Crew
- Director
- Clint Eastwood
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