Rocketeer

This film's a bit of a hard sell to general audiences. There have been more than a few knowing homages to serials (the Indiana Jones series being the most obvious), but this isn't really one of those. Rather than making a modern film that references old films, this is pretty much a serial with a $40 million budget and (at the time) modern effects. It's deliberately old fashioned and will work for you to the extent that you enjoy action stuff from simpler times. I do ... so I enjoy this.

THE ROCKETEER

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: 6-track Dolby Stereo SR

(35mm and 70mm release prints)

Based on Dave Stevens' graphic novel, this very un-Disney-like Disney movie is a joy from start to finish, a two-fisted tribute to the serials of yesteryear which combines nostalgia for the innocence of ages past with the Art deco gloss of a world on the brink of war. Bill Campbell (from TV's "Tales of the City") plays a 1930's air ace who stumbles on a jet-propelled device that allows its wearer to fly at high speeds, a device coveted by law enforcement agencies, gangland criminals, Howard Hughes (!), and a Nazi villain (Timothy Dalton) masquerading as a Hollywood heartthrob.

Handsome and talented, Campbell plays the title role with just the right amount of wide-eyed candor and boyish charm, and he's supported by a veritable who's-who of Hollywood's finest character actors, including Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino, Terry O'Quinn, Ed Lauter, Jon Polito and Eddie Jones, alongside Tiny Ron as a hulking henchman clearly modelled after Rondo Hatton (courtesy of Rick Baker's rubbery makeup), whose speciality is - you guessed it - *snapping spines*! Sadly, Jennifer Connelly is unable to make much of an impression as Campbell's eye-candy girlfriend, an old-fashioned heroine who lacks autonomy and is almost entirely dependent on her co-star's strength and bravery. That small blip aside, director Joe Johnston (HIDALGO) plays the whole thing straight, without even a hint of camp (when Campbell asks how he looks in his spiffy 'Rocketeer' outfit, Arkin deadpans: "Like a hood ornament!"), and while the characters are mere stock figures, they're played with real integrity by an enthusiastic cast, and the film's many set-pieces culminate in a showstopping finale on board an exploding zeppelin high above the Hollywood hills! Yep, this is one movie where you *definitely* get your money's worth!!

Produced today, the script (by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo) might have been co-opted by some overpriced 'star' whose off-screen notoriety could sap the magic out of every frame. It's the fact that Campbell WASN'T a household name during filming, and that the production dares to celebrate the movies of a bygone era without simultaneously mocking its references, which makes THE ROCKETEER so special. It carries none of the baggage that a major celebrity would have brought to it, and is simply a thrill-ride, no more or less, packaged and presented as a widescreen spectacle for audiences young and old (and DO try to see the film in its original Panavision dimensions). Incredibly, the movie underperformed at the American box-office, despite playing in 70mm (blown up from the original 35mm) at selected venues, though it has since found an appreciative audience on TV and home video. Originally released in the UK as ROCKETEER, an unnecessary abbreviation.

I love this film. Absolutely love it. Can't help it. I'm a child of the 40s and this movie is about when I was a kid. The sets are great, the story is 40s, the cars, the cafe with the bizarre little gingerbread giving an impression of a gnome's hangout, the costumes, the hero with his wiffle hair style, the airplanes and even Howard Hughes. What more could you want? No, this isn't The Matrix with a lot of slick computer effects with mind twisting is it or isn't it real. It's clear who the bad guys are-- and they're bad, except when, of course, the mob types are swept away by patriotic feelings and fight the Nazis. It's got it all. A wonderful trip back into the 40s with near superhuman villans, beyond the pale heros and lovable sidekicks.

This movie had a lot of hype around it before it was released. So much, I think, that many people were disappointed when it finally arrived in theaters. There were posters galore and rumors that Jennifer Connelly and Bill Campbell were dating, etc., etc.

It's too bad, as it's a nifty little film with LOTS of special little touches. What I really appreciated were wonderful little homages to the 1930s and 1940s--such as showing Campbell flying a Gee Bee Racer (how they did this scene I don't know), extensive Art Deco styling in the movie, the zeppelin and the villain on the zeppelin that was made to look exactly like Rondo Hatton--a very seldom talked about actor who starred in just a handful of horror-suspense movies of that era. After all, how many would remember Hatton and the Gee Bee Racer? I like these little touches.

Aside from all this, it's a good film. Great, maybe not, but very different and a nice tribute to the Commander Cody films (which featured a jet packed hero in movie serials).

This movie has the tendency to fly off the screen at you, especially if you saw it on the big screen like I did. I was 9 years old when the Rocketeer came out, and after seeing it I couldn't help but day dream about flying, and winning over the girl. Of course I tended to have the same day dreams after watching Superman the movie. But this film is a little different. It seemed more believable to me, as a kid, in that it incorporated some semi historical facts with the story line. I believe it to be one of Disney's finnest films, perhaps a modern epic. It's one of those films you've got to watch at least once a year. However I do have a question concerning it, "How did the Rocketeer manage with all those flames blasting at his ass?"