Space Cowboys (2000)

Four elderly test pilots are brought out of retirement to save the world from an armed Russian satellite. This unlikely premise unites Clint Eastwood (who also directs), Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner. 

During the training process there are age-related jokes aplenty (Eastwood seems obsessed by the topic) before the four guys actually go into space and things get (relatively) serious. 

A few flaws. The Russian plot is never really explained. Also, the despatching of the bombs is oddly never shown. Were those graphics outside of the budget? Or did something get mangled in the edit? 

James Garner seems underused. 

Marcia Gay Harden is good as the scientist Sara Holland, who becomes Tommy Lee’s unlikely love interest. 

Hardly a classic, but it’s a good-natured romp with some enjoyable comic moments.

Blown Away (1994)

Thriller. 

Ex-IRA soldier and expert bomb-maker Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones) escapes from prison in Northern Ireland. He travels to Boston to seek revenge on his former colleague Lieutenant James “Jimmy” Dove (Jeff Bridges), who is now a hero in the bomb-disposal unit. But Dove is also ex-IRA and the secrets of his past threaten to destroy both his career and his marriage. 

Directed by Stephen Hopkins, this is a fairly average thriller with some exciting moments. Every time Jimmy has to defuse a bomb that’s about to go off, the tension increases considerably. Bridges has a certain charm, as does Forest Whitaker as Officer Anthony Franklin. But Dove’s wife Kate (Suzy Amis) and uncle Max (Lloyd Bridges) are less well drawn as characters and threaten to tip it into B-movie territory.

The Missing (2003)

Ron Howard directs this rather slow drama set in 19th-century New Mexico. 

Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter Maggie (Cate Blanchett), who resists his efforts. But when Maggie’s daughter is abducted, she allows her father to help her rescue the girl.

The main two leads are excellent, with a degree of chemistry, and the scenery looks stunning. But it could’ve been better. It’s workmanlike where it should have sparkled. Long, too. It dabbles with a watered-down mysticism but doesn’t really deliver on that front. Also, the main villain is comical and silly rather than terrifying and the ending seems oddly abrupt. The alternative endings on the DVD make more sense, suggesting that something went a little askew in the edit.

Hope Springs (2012)

Light drama with comic moments. 

Kay and Arnold Soames (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones) have a stale and formulaic marriage, devoid of tenderness. Kay seeks to remedy that when she employs a Maine therapist (Steve Carell) to help them rekindle their former passion. But Arnold resists. 

It’s intriguing in that it could have become a Nancy Meyers-type lifestyle-aspiration film, but it stays just on the right side of watchable. All three leads are strong (even if Streep's mannerisms begin to irritate), and some of the therapy discussions are thought-provoking enough to suggest a real depth to the script.

The problem comes from the film’s strange reluctance to explain what went wrong in the marriage. Why can’t Arnold stand to touch his wife? That’s never illuminated. Plus, his U-turn at the end feels unlikely and bolted on, without a convincing motivation for this sudden change of character. And why does the therapist bring everything down to physical intimacy? What about the couple spending an evening simply talking or holding hands? Instead, it’s all about the sex (for example, they are assigned the task of trying it in the cinema) – perhaps because that makes for a more titillating story. 

Plus, the music is awkwardly intrusive. 

Elisabeth Shue is underused as a woman who works in a bar. She only gets one scene but she's probably the best thing in the film.

Jason Bourne (2016)

Bourne again? 

The fifth instalment in the series and – as of 2021 – the final part. Jason (Matt Damon) is still at large, but thanks to the hacking by old pal Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) he now has extra information about his past – and an insight into what happened to his father. 

In many ways it’s the same film yet again, but it’s such a good film that it’s worth remaking. This time, Tommy Lee Jones plays the corrupt head of the CIA. There’s also stuff about internet privacy with a social media corporation called Deep Dream (led by Riz Ahmed), plus an ambitious young CIA tech wizard who may or may not be helping J.B. (Alicia Vikander as Heather Lee). 

Paul Greengrass directs again, delivering incredible action sequences. The car chase in Las Vegas is especially dynamic. 

If there’s a fault it’s that there’s little psychological development for Bourne. Yes, there’s a thread about his dad but he has even less dialogue than usual. I’d have liked him to have shared more of a relationship with Nicky, or at least some “meaningful” glances, but following the first film there seems to have been a conscious decision for the series to avoid romance. It makes sense plot-wise because Bourne can’t stay in the same place for a couple of minutes before men in cars and copters arrive to kill him. But it would still have been nice to give him the extra depth of reconnecting with the woman who loved him.

Ad Astra (2019)

Brad Pitt stars in an existential sci-fi mind-bender. He’s an astronaut who leaves Earth in search of his father (Tommy Lee Jones), who is fixated on seeking intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. But that search has deadly repercussions for Earth and needs to be stopped.

The film asks intelligent questions about what’s important in life. It looks remarkably “realistic”, and there are moments of great beauty – especially around Jupiter. Pitt has never particularly impressed me with his acting, but he’s excellent here. He conveys the desperately lonely experience of being on your own in the vastness of space. 

Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland play supporting roles.

The Fugitive (1993)

Harrison Ford is highly watchable as the smart Chicago doctor Richard Kimble, on the run after being wrongly accused of murdering his wife. Tommy Lee Jones is credible as the tough US marshall on his trail. It could have been awfully clichéd, but somehow ends up refreshing and compelling throughout. I especially liked the hair-raising “dam” sequence.