Film Review: ''Space Cowboys''

AN IMPRESSIVE cast, a successful director and innovative characterisation. The end product ought to have been extremely interesting. And it is so.. but only in parts. One reason could be the plausibility factor that does not go down well even with the gullible.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, ``Space Cowboys'' has been produced by Clint Eastwood and Andrew Lazar for Warner Bros.

As the NASA bureaucrat Bob Gerson (Games Cromwell) tersely states, ``filling up a spaceship with geriatrics'', is not a line all viewers can buy.

Built on this unrealistic base, ``Space Cowboys'' deals with a group of retired Air Force test pilots.

The four members of Team Daedalus once upon a time worked and waited with dreams in their eyes to become the first Americans in space - dreams that were shattered when a chimpanzee was chosen to replace them on board the spaceship. That was way back in 1958.Decades roll by and the four old men become important and indispensable once again. Russian satellite Ikon suffers from a systems failure that could cause much problem - a total communication blackout - there. As the guidance system of Ikon is similar to that of the early American satellite, Skylab, its designer and his crew alone can set things right. Enter Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood), Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), Jerry O' Neil (Donald Sutherland) and Tank Sullivan (James Garner). A few medical tests, exercises and a short training stint, and all the senior citizens are off into space! Strong minds they might possess but a strong physique? However their age is not much of an obstacle at all! In fact, the only realistic dialogue in these sequences is when Tank, panting and gasping for breath during training, says, ``I'll soon get a heart attack.''

How the veterans face the challenge with intrepidity is what the rest of the film is about. Donald Sutherland as a light-hearted, fun-loving flirt, provides a few enjoyable moments. Tommy Lee Jones, who appears the youngest of the old, is appealing. Clint Eastwood is the head of the crew and the main hero.

The outer space heroism and the high sounding jargons of the communication systems could awe lovers of sci-fi-thrillers. But the general viewer cannot help musing, ``If only the heroic cowboys had been younger!''

MALATHI RANGARAJAN

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Section  : Entertainment
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