THESE 'SPACE COWBOYS' STILL HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

Clint Eastwood's latest geezer fantasy is, basically, John Glenn does ``Armageddon.'' Amiable to a fault - by the time things mosey around to a save-the-world third act, any potential for suspense has been pleasantly frittered away - ``Space Cowboys'' is much more successful as an easygoing character comedy than as awesome astronaut adventure. Wrinkled charm is this vehicle's real solid fuel.

The concept could not be simpler, nor a more comfortable fit for its macho-mellow stars. Eastwood's Frank, Tommy Lee Jones' Hawk, Donald Sutherland's Jerry and James Garner's Tank were all hotshot test pilots in the 1950s (the very nice, black-and-white opening flashback offers young ringers for the famous actors dubbed by the icons' unmistakable voices) who were bypassed for the space program when NASA commandeered it from the Air Force.

Forty-some years later, a key Russian communications satellite's orbit is degrading, and it can only be fixed Up There. Since all the current astronauts are too young to understand the obsolete bird's operational system, the space program has to turn to the guy who designed it - that's right, Frank.

What his work is doing in a 30-year-old Soviet craft is a good question that is later answered in the most alarming way imaginable (it's a Clint movie, so even though they may not be commies anymore, you still can't trust those Russkies). Time's running out, the vice president insists we help, and so Frank's hated ex-boss, Gerson (James Cromwell), now a NASA bigwig, has to agree to the snarling senior's demand that his old team be sent up on the mission.

If, of course, they can pass the physical. Training turns out to be ``Space Cowboys' '' most genial stretch, as the old buckaroos do their best to feign fitness for the assignment. After all these years, Tank's devolved into a boring, scatterbrained Baptist minister, hallind Jerry is happy test-driving roller coasters and young mistresses, and Hawk, who has the most contentious relationship with Frank, still hasn't gotten over his beloved wife's death.

But, of course, they all want their long-postponed shot at space. Prep time, some of which was filmed at the actual Johnson Space Center and Cape Canaveral in Florida, is a jokey affair; the boys are constantly told about old colleagues who've died and the few still around inevitably greet Frank with a cheery, ``You never were a team player.''

Despite the supposed urgency of the situation, there is time for a May-December romance (Marcia Gay Hardin is the comely scientist half), a bar brawl and new Clint one-liners like ``Clock's ticking, Bob, and I'm only getting older.'' Later, there's a cancer scare, orbital complications and opportunities for noble self-sacrifice.

It all gets steadily more preposterous, and the dramatic possibilities in the seniors' frailties remain frustratingly unexplored.

But you do leave the proceedings going ``Old guys rule!'' The superannuated ensemble serves up effortless rapport, and it's all agreeable, midrange Eastwood entertainment, nothing profound but put across with smooth aplomb by his usual crack team of cinematographer Jack N. Green, production designer Henry Bumstead and composer Lennie Niehaus.

Even though ``Space Cowboys'' is fundamentally meaningless, I have little doubt that, in a quarter century or so, it'll mean a whole lot more to me.

The facts

--The film: ``Space Cowboys'' (PG-13; mild swearing and tense action).

--The stars: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Hardin, William Devane, Loren Dean.

--Behind the scenes: Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Ken Kaufman and Howard Klausner. Produced by Eastwood and Andrew Lazar. Released by Warner Bros.

--Running time: Two hours, 10 minutes.

--Playing: Citywide.

--Our rating: Three stars

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Photo:

Clint Eastwood, left, Donald Sutherland and James Garner co-star as retirees sent to save a satellite in ``Space Cowboys.''