Space Cowboys 2000
RB>>When they go into space the movie goes south in a hurry. The effects are cheesy, the story line is worse.<<
I agree with you on most of the effects. They never once looked weightless and when they were faking it, it looked way to jerky to be gliding through air. Clint Eastwood did okay in some parts, but in others he obviously wasn’t trying. As director and producer, who was there to tell him he was flat? (at times, for the most part he was good) But when the satellite is coming apart I thought it was a neat piece of computer animation that showed all the different parts moving at somewhat different speeds. It looked very realistic. And the satellite was pretty cool-looking anyway.
I thought the stuff on the ground was pretty entertaining and Donald Sutherland’s character was good in support. Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones were both solid characters while James Garner just wasn’t believable as a preacher who didn’t know one book of the bible from another and couldn’t even come up with a prayer. He was just a waste: the only thing that indicated he had any talent as an astronaut was that he could pick toys up with the grappling hook in a video parlor. But he’s a navigator, so why does that fit? I think they just threw in the female NASA engineer because they realized they didn’t have any women in the cast. Along with Eastwood’s wife it was an unnecessary part and felt tacked on. I don’t know why James Cromwell thinks he can do a southern accent, but he repeats his southern Hollywood accent from Green Mile.
Still, this was enjoyable and light. It had some good laughs, cute scenes, and kept my interest throughout. Certainly worth seeing but don’t go out of your way.
How ‘bout a C+
Written: 20 Aug 2000