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.

Weak and saggy script meets predictable plot.

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

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.