This self-deprecating and winningly indulgent cosmic adventure from director/producer/star Clint Eastwood is a complete macho-fuelled fantasy set in the ultra-realistic world of Nasa operations today. With an irresistible premise - four elderly astronauts finally get the chance to go into orbit 40 years after being sidelined by a monkey - this slice of gung-ho wish-fulfilment is an entertaining feel-good pleasure. Eastwood's Team Daedalus is called back into service because no other has the obsolete knowledge to prevent a Cold-War era Russian telecommunications satellite from crashing to Earth. There's absolutely no point in taking anything seriously in this hi-tech Peter Pan fable. Even the space-set climax, brilliantly constructed by Star Wars supremo George Lucas's company (Industrial Light and Magic) from actual photographs, space shuttle footage, miniatures and digital animation, lacks any real thrills or suspense because the outcome is obvious from the start. But Eastwood and his co-stars shine as the ageing spacemen, wheezing through basic training, navigating past feuds and becoming all-American heroes. Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner also reveal the right stuff as well as the true meaning of star charisma and career longevity.

Frank Corvin, ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, Jerry O'Neill and ‘Tank’ Sullivan were hotdog members of Project Daedalus, the US Air Force's test program for space travel, but their hopes were dashed in 1958 with the formation of NASA and the use of trained chimps. They blackmail their way into orbit when Russia's mysterious ‘Ikon’ communications satellite's orbit begins to degrade and threatens to crash to Earth.