Space Cowboys (2000)
70%RT Audience Score: 53%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 9 nominations total
While the plot is overly cliched, the suberb acting by the stars (especially the tense interactions between Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones) and the spectacular special effects make this a movie worth seeing
Space Cowboys is like a space-themed version of The Golden Girls, but with more explosions and less cheesecake. It’s a fun and entertaining movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the chemistry between the four veteran actors is undeniable. Sure, the plot is predictable and the script is weak in some places, but who cares when you have Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner cracking jokes and saving the world? It’s a movie that’s perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon when you just want to sit back, relax, and watch some old guys kick some butt in space.
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Six Flags Magic Mountain – 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some language
Year of Release
2000
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 9m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 4, 2000 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2001
Genre(s)
Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner, adventure, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Ansen, Nell Minow, Edward Buscombe, Steven D Greydanus, Peter Travers, Robert Denerstein, Tim Brayton, Danielle Solzman, PG-13, produced by Clint Eastwood, Andrew Lazar, Warner Bros Pictures, SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, Frank Corvin, Hawk Hawkins, Jerry O’Nell, Tank Sullivan, Bob Gerson, Sara Holland, astronaut, Air Force, NASA, space
Worldwide gross: $128,884,132
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $223,538,672
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 636
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 24,377,172
US/Canada gross: $90,464,773
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $156,903,529
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 496
US/Canada opening weekend: $18,093,776
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $31,382,131
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 434
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $65,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $112,737,025
Production budget ranking: 336
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $60,708,888
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $50,092,758
ROI to date (est.): 29%
ROI ranking: 1,245
Tommy Lee Jones – Hawk Hawkins
Donald Sutherland – Jerry O’Nell
James Garner – Tank Sullivan
James Cromwell – Bob Gerson
Marcia Gay Harden – Sara Holland
Director – Clint Eastwood
Producer – Clint Eastwood, Andrew Lazar
Writers – Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner
Director(s)
Clint Eastwood
Writer(s)
Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner
Producer(s)
Clint Eastwood, Andrew Lazar
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 9 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (121) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (26)
Space Cowboys is at least three different movies–high-tech thriller, low-key comedy, rumination on aging–jammed together into an implausible but very likable entertainment.
March 7, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Weak and saggy script meets predictable plot.
December 28, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Despite the poignancy of old age, the mood of the film is cheerful, sustained by the high spirits of the four veterans.
December 2, 2002
Edward Buscombe
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Where Armageddon merely strutted, Cowboys swaggers. What’s the difference? Style.
May 8, 2002 | Rating: B
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
It’s a rare pleasure to watch four terrific actors having the time of their lives.
May 10, 2001 | Rating: 3.5/5
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2000 | Rating: B
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
TOP CRITIC
Takes a ludicrous premise simultaneously at face value and also not very seriously.
June 27, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
Space Cowboys features a masterclass performance in acting from four of the hardest working actors of their generation.
April 13, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
A cheerful, thoroughly unambitious yarn.
July 13, 2015
Stuart Klawans
The Nation
Problems are evident, and eminent, from a black-and-white flashback prologue in which four young men speak with old actors’ voices. Yes, a man purportedly in peak physical condition sounds like a 70-year-old who’s eaten bags of gravel daily for 30 years.
November 4, 2010 | Rating: 0/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
Grumpy Old Astronauts–or, rather, Grumpy Old Air Force Officers Who Get Sent into Space to Fix a Damaged Satellite.
January 8, 2010 | Rating: 2.5/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
A terrible effort with a bland script, boring plot, and uninspired story…
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed…
Plot
When a Russian satellite orbiting the Earth starts to veer off course. It seems like the guidance system in the satellite is of American origin. It’s important to try and fix it before it comes into the atmosphere. N.A.S.A. man, Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) tries to find out who designed it, and discovers that it was designed by Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood), an Air Force pilot who, forty years ago, was part of a team who was originally suppose to go to space, but when N.A.S.A. was formed and Gerson’s influence, they were dropped. Gerson asks Frank to help, but Frank still holds a grudge. But after some prodding, he agrees but only if he and his team can go there so he can fix it. Gerson reluctantly agrees, so Frank recruits his former team members, “Tank” Sullivan (James Garner), Jerry O’Neill (Donald Sutherland), and “Hawk” Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones) to join him. After some strenuous tests, they’re cleared. And they go up with two other astronauts and check out the satellite and discover that they weren’t told the whole truth.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as a group of aging pilots.
Clint-Eastwood.jpg
