Plot
When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space.
Release Year: 2000
Rating: 6.3/10 (36,316 voted)
Critic's Score: 73/100
Director:
Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland
Storyline In 1958, four hot shot test pilots seem certain to be the first men to go into outer space. However, the back-stabbing leader of their organization disbands them to prevent their involvement in the then forming NASA and labels them as non-team players. Flash forward to the present, the foursome are now living a docile life. The electrical engineer has a pleasant retired life in a desert home with his wife. The pilot, who had a penchant for pushing the test planes to their limits, is now a daredevil crop-duster. The navigator is a Baptist minister. The designer is a womanizing roller coaster designer. Their former boss is now a mission leader in Nasa and still as despicable as in his younger days. It is here that the main story begins. It seems that an old Russian "communications" satellite is about to crash back into the Earth's atmosphere and somehow American technology designed by Eastwood's character has ended up as the guiding system...
Writers: Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner
Cast: Clint Eastwood
-
Frank Corvin
Tommy Lee Jones
-
Hawk Hawkins
Donald Sutherland
-
Jerry O'Neill
James Garner
-
Tank Sullivan
James Cromwell
-
Bob Gerson
Marcia Gay Harden
-
Sara Holland
William Devane
-
Eugene Davis
Loren Dean
-
Ethan Glance
Courtney B. Vance
-
Roger Hines
Barbara Babcock
-
Barbara Corvin
Rade Serbedzija
-
General Vostov
Blair Brown
-
Dr. Anne Caruthers
Jay Leno
-
Himself
Nils Allen Stewart
-
Tiny
Deborah Jolly
-
Cocktail Waitress
Taglines:
Space will never be the same
Release Date: 4 August 2000
Filming Locations: Agua Dulce, California, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $65,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $18,093,776
(USA)
(6 August 2000)
(2805 Screens)
Gross: $90,454,043
(USA)
(14 January 2001)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Alun Armstrong was offered the role of Russian Genrael Vostov.
Goofs:
Factual errors:
The interior shots of the orbiter show a ladder between the flight deck and mid-deck. During flight there is no ladder installed, as it would reduce useable space in the mid-deck and isn't necessary for moving between the decks in zero-G.
Quotes: Frank Corvin:
This is Jerry O'Neill. Sara Holland:
No nickname for you? Jerry O'Neill:
You can call me
[kisses her hand]
Jerry O'Neill:
anytime.
User Review
A nice little movie, not too outrageous and the expert acting makes it enjoyable
Rating: 7/10
We own this movie in our home collection and we haven't watched it in a
while. Saw it again tonight on TV, and realized that it is still a good
movie.
Clint Eastwood produces and directs this movie, and draws some
"experienced" actors to help him fill the lead roles. They manage to
extol the trials and tribulations of the senior years, while still
capturing the exuberance of youth from the past.
the story leads a mildly predictable pattern, but in this case it is
not the end of the story that is primarily important, but instead how
they get there. Also, all 4 lead actors all come off as really having a
good time in the movie, it feels like they really enjoyed making this
one and it comes out on the screen in the performances.
The pace is even and smooth, again demonstrating Clint Eastwood's
legacy of directing and acting in watchable, enjoyable movies, no
matter what the gender.
I should also mention that the special effects and the space sequences
are stunning and much better done than most other movies in near-earth
space. That would be the industrial Light and Magic team doing it
again.
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