YMMV / Space Cowboys

• Genius Bonus: Although unnamed, the rollercoaster Jerry rides during his first scene is Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA. When the ride comes to a close, Jerry notes the ride has rough sections and needs a lot of work. Anyone familiar with Magic Mountain knows that constant shakiness is a long-standing issue with the ride in real life.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: A small one, but Jerry calling himself "Spider-Man" after putting on his special Cool Shades is this since 12 years later in The Amazing Spider-Man Spidey has the eyes of his mask made of reflective material, akin to Jerry's shades.
• Narm Charm:
  • The four elders, fronted by Clint Eastwood, arriving at NASA to *NSYNC's "Space Cowboy".
  • The ending scene. As Roger Ebert aptly put it in his review: "We leave the theater with grave doubts that the scene depicted in the final feel-good shot is even remotely possible, but what the hell; it makes us smile."
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Jon Hamm plays a pilot who tells a young couple to go see Hawk if they want to go on a wild ride.
  • Toby Stephens, who would later go on to be the Big Bad of James Bond's Die Another Day, plays 1958 Frank due to his strong resemblance to a young Clint Eastwood.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Any discussion of Hawk's deceased wife.
  • The discovery of Hawk's terminal pancreatic cancer.
  • "You know what the worst day of my life was? It was the day I met you, and you put the idea in my head that I could fly a ship in space someday!"
  • The fact that, against all odds, Hawk made it to the moon after all and either managed to crash just right so his corpse would be looking at Earth or he dragged himself to where he could get a good view before passing out forever once the oxygen runs out.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The film employs some incredible miniature model footage, and combines them with laudable CGI work, especially in the retro-looking opening sequence flashback.
  • Apparently, future Mythbuster Adam Savage was on the VFX crew as a model builder.