Director Joe Johnston, who worked in design and VFX for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, is best known for effects-heavy family pics like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, and Jumanji. But in 1999, he tried his hand at the “based on a true story” inspirational biopic genre, based on the early life of NASA engineer Homer Hickam, as told in Hickam’s memoir Rocket Boys. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, and Laura Dern, the film tells the story of a coal miner’s son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik in 1957 to take up rocketry with a group of friends against his father’s wishes. A critical and commercial success, the anagramically-titled October Sky sounds stellar. But over two decades later, does it still shoot for the moon, or is it a dud?
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