Film Review - The Rocketeer

[Steve Jordan]

Artist Dave Stevens' graphic novel creation The Rocketeer turns out to be great adventure movie material! Starring Bruce Campbell (The 4400), Timothy Dalton (James Bond, the 4th movie incarnation) and Jennifer Connelly (all grown-up and filled out from her appearance in Labyrinth), the movie is light-hearted fun, with quite a few memorable moments!

Cliff Secord (Campbell) is a race plane pilot who just wants to win the Nationals, and to make points with his wanna-be starlet girlfriend Jenny Blake (Connelly). But when he stumbles on a strange contraption... a wearable rocket-pack... his world is turned upside-down. Cliff is soon on the run from the FBI, led by Howard Hughes (the device's inventor), and gangsters funded by a Hollywood star (Dalton) with sinister connections! Poor Secord barely manages to get out of it all alive, but in the process, he prevents the pack from falling into the wrong hands, and becomes a hero to the nation... and to his girl!

Director Joe Johnston knows how to make an action movie, though he rarely gets critical acclaim for them (think Hidalgo, Mighty Joe Young). But they are still a blast to watch! The scenes of Cliff flying in the rocket-pack make you wish you were the one strapping that thing to your back and flying like a bat outta Hell through the skies! 1938 Hollywood looks and feels wonderful, the kind of sunny and friendly place anyone would want to live in. In this era, cars are big and black, diners can eat at the Copa Cabana, or inside a giant bulldog diner, and people go to air shows to see race planes and barnstormers... what a life!

Johnston makes some deviations from the original graphic novel to sell this movie. For example, the jetpack inventor was originally pulp hero Doc Savage, but Johnston felt that more people would know and identify with aviator/inventor Howard Hughes (Terry O'Quinn, Lost). Also, Jenny Blake was a toned-down version of Cliff's girlfriend in the graphic novel, famed "art" (read: nude) model Betty Page! And finally, what would a late-1930s adventure movie be without... Nazis? And something inevitably destroying the last four letters of the "Hollywoodland" sign? Add to this the wonderful adventure scoring of James Horner (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), and you have the perfect audio cherry on top of this great ice cream float.

And for the guys, one cannot mention Jennifer Connelly enough. This was her first movie as a hottie with serious pinup looks (and dimensions), and effectively began her run as actress-to-watch on the Hollywood scene. The same can be said for Bruce Campbell, of course, and the rest of the cast (including Allen Arkin and Paul Sorvino) just planted their tongues firmly in cheek and ran with it.

If you're looking for a sheer fun movie, this is one to see. Bring your early-Americana innocence with you, it'll make it doubly-good.

[gully_foyle]

I loved this movie when it came out, I'll have to get it out on DVD again. Thanks Steve. One minor point, the lead is Bill Campbell rather than Bruce Campbell, who was the lead from the Evil Dead movies.

[Talysia]

I remember seeing this a good couple of years ago now, and I used to love it.

[Steve Jordan]

Originally Posted by gully_foyle

I loved this movie when it came out, I'll have to get it out on DVD again. Thanks Steve. One minor point, the lead is Bill Campbell rather than Bruce Campbell, who was the lead from the Evil Dead movies.

Thanks for pointing out my little brainfart (that's what you get for writing when in a rush!)...

[williamjm]

I saw it a couple of years ago, it was quite good fun - although it might have been better if it really did star Bruce Campbell

[HappyHippo]

Went to see this on a date about a million years ago...

couldn't compete with Jennifer Conelly's biggest asset!

Fun film, even better for Tim Dalton trying to play it straight.

[Steve Jordan]

Originally Posted by HappyHippo

couldn't compete with Jennifer Conelly's biggest asset!

Shouldn't that last be plural?

Yeah... I remember when us guys saw her in Rocketeer for the first time...

"Zounds! Is that that kid from Labyrinth?!?" "There'd better be a poster!" "Be still my heart! (And my other thing, too...)"

[HappyHippo]

seriously, Steve?

Oh, dear!

Was there a poster?

[Steve Jordan]

Not that I ever saw. (And I knew a few guys who looked!)

I just realized that I neglected to mention the one other unique thing about The Rocketeer, which would be Lothar, the classical music listening giant assassin on Sinclair's payroll. The face was obviously a mask, but in fact, it was modelled after a man who really looked like that! (Anyone remember his name?)

[gully_foyle]

I got it out on dvd last night. Definitely good fun, I recommend anyone jaded with the same old guff at the video store to watch it.

Thanks Steve!

[Bikewer]

I enjoyed The Rocketeer greatly. I'm old enough to remember the original serials with the cheesy flying suit (controls...Up, and Down), the cheesy bad guys, and the awful miniature work. (Hehe- I loved 'em as a kid!)

Not to mention that Jennifer Connolly was really hot....

[Foxbat]

I've moved this to 'Reviews'.

Just a bit of housekeeping

[tangaloomababe]

I thought this was a really good fun movie. I even liked Timothy Dalton and I am not a fan of his. It just had a good feel about it. Jennifer Connolly is a really good actress, I didnt notice her assets.

[Steve Jordan]

Well, besides her beauty, Connelly really showed her acting ability for the first time here, I think. She had a great "sweet hometown girl" aura about her, and in her featured scenes, she didn't "chew up the scenery." It's like the director told the "block of wood" actress in one of the movie-set scenes: "Acting is acting like you're not acting!" Connelly embodied that in her performance, and I believe that role is what got her career really going.