"You know what the worst day of my life was? The day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. I was probably the only person in America who wanted to commit suicide that day"
Now this is serious fun: a bittersweet comedy directed by Clint Eastwood with an allstar cast featuring some of the best looking special - effects ever shown in cinema. Beautifully shot by Jack N. Green, this is perfect popcorn cinema: switch off your brain and enjoy four seriously ageing actors (Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, James Garner and Tommy Lee Jones) having fun on-screen.
Ok, now you know I like the movie, but what is it about?
Clint Eastwood is a bitter old retired Nasa Engineer who never forgave the agency for not sending him and his team up into orbit when they were hot-shot testpilots, instead choosing a Chimpanzee. Forty years later the Russians ask Nasa for help to repair an old obsolete communications satellite which is spiralling out of control. Interestingly enough, this bird features onboard electronics that were designed by old Clint, probably stolen during the cold war, and now so obsolete that the only man to do the job is - you guessed it - our favourite septugenarian.
So he coaxes Nasa to send himself and his three mates (Sutherland, Garner and Jones) into space, under the condition that they pass the physical tests just like every other Astronaut. Hilarity ensues, they swindle their way up into Orbit and of course, save the day (but not without finding out that the object of their mission is actually a nasty old launch-platform for nuclear missiles, so there).
Somebody dies up there, but just like the classic "The Seven Samurai", there always has to be sacrifice in these stories.
Anyway, there's holes in the plot and factual errors as big as penguins, but you don't really care because it's just fun to watch, the soundtrack is great and space just hasn't looked so beautiful since Starship Troopers
Oh yes, and there's nudity (if you're into old bottoms).