Clint Eastwood directed and starred in a sleeper sci-fi movie in 2000, and it might be time for people to give it another watch now that 25 years have passed. By 2000, Eastwood had become an acclaimed director, with 21 directed film under his belt, including the Oscar-winning Western movie Unforgiven.
That 1992 movie was Eastwood’s first directorial film to receive an Oscar nomination, and he would go on to earn four more. However, when it came to his 2000 film, he wasn’t quite there yet, although the sci-fi movie is better than some might remember. In 2000, Eastwood directed Space Cowboys, and fans should give it another watch.
Space Cowboys Is A Must-Watch Clint Eastwood Classic
When Space Cowboys was released, it looked like a space-based sci-fi movie for an older audience. That’s because it starred Clint Eastwood (70), Tommy Lee Jones (54), Donald Sutherland (65), and James Garner (72) as former test pilots sent into space on a mission to repair an old Soviet satellite.
With the average age of the stars at 65, it was a hard sell when it came to adventure movies in outer space. The film only made $90 million domestically on a $65 million budget, with an extra $38 million internationally. It also only had a 78% Rotten Tomatoes score. However, Space Cowboys was much better than those numbers indicate.
The movie didn’t take many chances and told a solid story about a group of men sent into space against all odds. However, the acting was great across the board, which is no surprise. Other than the four leads, who are all legends in the industry, Marcia Gay Harden, Courtney B. Vance, and James Cromwell also lent their talents.
It is also a heartfelt story, with Tommy Lee Jones’ Hawk Hawkins as the emotional core, a man with only eight months left to live who makes the ultimate sacrifice. It never comes across as saccharine and works well on every level, with Eastwood balancing the emotional human story with the excitement of getting back to Earth.
Space Cowboys Features One Of Clint Eastwood’s Most Underrated Performances
On top of Tommy Lee Jones’ outstanding performance, Clint Eastwood also delivers one of his most underrated performances. As with many of his movies, Eastwood plays veteran Frank Crovin with a grizzled and rough attitude that fans have fallen in love with.
When Corvin demands his original team join him, it means something. This allows Eastwood to set up the rest of his cast, all fantastic veterans themselves, to slide in beside him, and he does a spectacular job at grounding the movie, allowing his fellow cast members to do what they do best.
Eastwood also shows great gravitas and emotions as he fights to protect his fellow astronauts and feels loss when anything happens to them. He strikes a perfect balance between humor and depth, revealing the struggles he and his men face with this insurmountable task. Space Cowboys presents Clint Eastwood at his best.
