Yet another film which had escaped my attention until now,
this is a present-day (actually, slightly historical since it includes an
operational Space Shuttle) comedy drama concerning an emergency space mission
by four elderly former test pilots.
The film starts in 1958 with four USAF officers who are part
of a rocket-plane test programme leading up to the first manned space flight.
However, they are denied the chance to get into space. Move on to the present
day, when an old Russian satellite is in danger of re-entering the atmosphere
and crashing. For political reasons it is considered imperative to prevent
this, but the satellite's navigation system is malfunctioning and needs repair.
It turns out that this was copied from a US system designed by Frank Corvin
(played by Clint Eastwood, who also directed and produced the film), who
happens to be one of the now retired USAF officers. The system is so old that
only Corvin knows how to repair it, so he assembles the other members of his
old team - Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), Jerry O'Neill (Donald Sutherland)
and Tank Sullivan (James Garner) - to achieve at last their dream of getting
into space.
On the way there is much gentle humour concerning the
problems of the ancient astronauts, internal battles among themselves and with
an unwilling NASA, and a major and unwelcome surprise when they eventually
reach the satellite.
This isn't the sort of film I would normally make a point of
watching since despite involving space travel there is very little SF in it –
it might best be described as a techno-thriller with comedy overtones. In a
way, it made me think of Apollo 13,
which I have never seen since I regard it as more of a dramatised documentary,
a category which doesn't interest me. Space
Cowboys is formulaic and predictable, offering nothing new, but it is serviceable
entertainment that pushes enough of the right buttons to be worth viewing.
2 comments:
This sounds better than I expected, Tony. Of course, I didn't expect much. :)
However, you really should watch Apollo 13 sometime. No, it's not science fiction, and I don't normally watch dramatized documentaries, either. But it's still a very entertaining movie, especially for space enthusiasts.
I'll bear that in mind, Bill. I tend to be put off by drama documentaries because I'm constantly distracted by wondering which bits are accurate and which have been invented.
On the subject of realistic space stories, I must admit I do intend to see Gravity - but only at an IMAX theatre in 3D, for the sheer spectacle! The last time I bothered to do that was to see Avatar.
Post a Comment