there wasn't much hype surrounding this movie, so i wasn't sure of how good it would be. then i looked at the cast laden with excellent veteran actors and the fact that it was directed by clint eastwood and said to myself, "it has to be good." i was right. it was a great movie laden with a good story,likeable characters, and excellent dialogue. i was surprised by the humor. this is a very funny movie. clint eastwood taps a comedic side rarely seen before in his previous films. james garner, donald sutherland and james cromwell all contribute to the film with stellar performances. i enjoyed the chemistry all these actors had together, especially the raport between clint eastwood and tommy lee jones. it's great fun and a great way to spend a sunday night with your dad. my mom's a huge fan of james garner, but she didn't go see it with us. i was impressed by loren dean and courtney b. vance in their roles as the younger astronauts, but feel that they didn't get enough screen time. neither did james garner for that matter. the first hour of the movie show such promise that i was convinced that it was the best movie of the summer. however, they don't dabble into space suspense on the level of 'apollo 13', but they do a much better job of telling a story in space, then say 'mission to mars' and 'armageddon'. clint eastwood serves up his best picture since his masterpiece, 'unforgiven' and does a great job as the lead character. the movie seems to peak too soon and feels sort of anti-climactic and also leaves a lot of questions unanswered. i'm not sure if that is what eastwood was aiming at, but he still churned out a great film far better than most of the movies at the multiplex this summer. great entertainment, doesn't disappoint. you'll enjoy it. you get your money's worth.
***1/2 stars on a 4 star scale
***1/2 stars on a 4 star scale