Space Cowboys

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Space Cowboys

PG-13

Released Aug 4, 2000

2h 9m

Adventure

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

78%

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122 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner star as a group of pilots whose time has come to serve their country and fulfill their dream of going to space. In 1958, the members of Team Daedalus, a group of top Air Force test pilots, were ready to serve their country as the first Americans in space. When NASA replaced the Air Force for outer atmospheric testing, they were pushed aside for a chimpanzee. The team retired, but the dream of going into space never died.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

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.

Mar 7, 2018

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Weak and saggy script meets predictable plot.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 28, 2010

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Edward Buscombe

Sight & Sound

Despite the poignancy of old age, the mood of the film is cheerful, sustained by the high spirits of the four veterans.

Dec 2, 2002

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

I’m not sure that a relaxed treatment of tense outer-space moments is the way to go. The last half hour — the climax we’re supposedly here for — is flat-out dull.

Rated: C

Sep 2, 2022

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Takes a ludicrous premise simultaneously at face value and also not very seriously.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 27, 2022

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Space Cowboys features a masterclass performance in acting from four of the hardest working actors of their generation.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 13, 2022

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Jacopo D

Quanto è divertente. Sogni di una vita che si realizzano in una film pieno di divertimento e di azione.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/25

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007tribefan B

This an anual watch, at least. Watched it again and always enjoy the scene where the female doctor walks in the nude cowboys. Cried a couple times, and always listen to Sinatra for awhile. Can't believe the audience score is so low. Many Boomers don't use this platform, I guess (ha)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/23/24

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Nora K

Okay… I came into to this movie with no knowledge of anything at all. I walked out, confused and confuzzled about what I just saw. First of all, the writers did some weird stuff. Starting with the foreshadowing; there is literally so much of it in this movie. And I do applaud the writers for this. It’s just they probably should have focused more on the plot and music more. Speaking of the music… I was not shocked to find that this 2000s movie did not have the best soundtrack in the books, but it also just also didn’t fit the tone of the movie. If you want a “comedy” that makes you question how astronauts actually are and I guess dive deep into characters for one split sec—basically no character development in this entire dang movie— then it is for you. I just felt weird and confused in the worst way. But that’s just my general opinion.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/31/24

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Devin B

Slow at first but picks up near the middle of the movie.Great actors with a solid ending!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

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Del

A personal fave film as a child and STILL remains to move me deeply. The ending gets me every time. If you enjoy a movie with humor, logic, science and raw emotion, this is it! The good ol' boys retirement is interrupted by the mission they've dreamt of since their 20's. They have the stamina, but will their old bones hold together as well as their space station? Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner & Donald Sutherland showed up! This film never gets old, unlike the astronauts!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

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Alec B

A silly geriatric fantasy and while I don't necessarily have a problem with that aspect, the entire movie is so cliched and predictable. It's really just a "getting the band back together" story with space instead of music.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner star as a group of pilots whose time has come to serve their country and fulfill their dream of going to space. In 1958, the members of Team Daedalus, a group of top Air Force test pilots, were ready to serve their country as the first Americans in space. When NASA replaced the Air Force for outer atmospheric testing, they were pushed aside for a chimpanzee. The team retired, but the dream of going into space never died.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Lazar
Screenwriter: Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Village Roadshow Prod., Mad Chance, Malpaso Company, Clipsal Films
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 4, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 17, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $90.4M
Runtime: 2h 9m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround

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