Rocketeer

A great action adventure film from 1991 that proves to be enormous fun.

They don't make them like this any more.

Rocketeer is directed by Joe Johnston and co-written by Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and William Dear. It is based on Dave Stevens' comic book The Rocketeer. It stars Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton and Paul Sorvino. Music is scored by James Horner and cinematography by Hiro Narita.

It took eight years to get to the screen, with many rewrites, changes in personal, changes in setting and etc, the only thing consistent was Disney's inconsistency. Once out the film received generally positive reviews but posted only a small profit, in the wake of a Tim Burton inspired reinvention of the Super Hero genre, Rocketeer fell away into cultdom, sequels planned were shelved and its reputation remains to this day one of being a misfire. Unfair say I! Rocketeer is a lovingly crafted adventure film, nodding towards the serials of the 1930s, it's awash with period Hollywood delights, Art Deco imagery, has a damsel in distress, square jawed heroics, Nazi villains, wonderful effects and a blunderbuss Zeppelin finale. Backed by beautiful smooth tone photography and an evocative heart stirring music score, it's a family friendly blockbuster that ticks all the requisite boxes. The quality of the action sequences still hold up today, and Johnston, who wanted the job big time, directs with a knowing grasp of the setting, and crucially he never once loses a grip on tone and pacing. There's no self parody here, no deep Fruedian dissection of the main character, just a honest to goodness good against bad axis, with a romantic cause deftly wafted over proceedings.

The role of Cliff Secord (Rocketeer) proved hard to cast, where Vincent D'Onofrio turned it down and "name" actors such as Dennis Quaid, Emilio Estevez, Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton auditioned for the part. Paxton, it's believed, was very close to getting it as well. Disney wanted an A list man, Johnny Depp and Kevin Costner were mooted, but Johnston had a feel for unknown Billy Campbell and managed to convince nervous Disney heads that he was perfect. Much of the scorn that has flown towards Rocketeer has landed at Campbell's door, again, this is unfair. It's hard to tell if one of those A list actors could have made the character work better, for it helps in this instance to not have a familiar face propelling the adventure. There's an innocence, an awkwardness to Campbell's portrayal that just sits right for a guy stumbling upon a rocket pack and finding himself submerged in a chase and harry battle against bad. He also has the looks, a handsome dude who creates a homespun based chemistry with the sensuous Connelly. It's Dalton's movie, though, he's having a devil of a time as the chief villain. Modeled on Errol Flynn and the spurious notion that he was once a Nazi spy, Dalton has the looks, the gusto, the moustache twirling shiftiness and a voice perfect for such material. A roll call of great character actors fill out the support slots, with Terry O'Quinn, Paul Sorvino and Ed Lauter particularly striking the right chords.

A smashing piece of escapism, no pretensions or ideas above its station. The willingness to tap into the basic premise of a comic book actioner and entertain in grand Hollywood terms, to be applauded. And I do, and I do love it so. 8/10

I was chomping at the bit, waiting for this movie to come out, back in 1991. I had loved the Dave Stevens comics since I first encountered them (ironically, at the same time I had read about Bettie Page in an article about Bunny Yeager, in a photography magazine). The comic captured the spirit of 1930's aviation pulps, as well as the Doc Savage crowd. It also brought along that Republic Studios flavor. I couldn't wait to see this as a movie.

The movie captured the spirit of the comics beautifully. Sure it was disappointing that Doc Savage couldn't be included, but Howard Hughes made a sensible substitution. I was a bit annoyed that Disney felt they had to change Betty into Jenny, but with Jennifer Connelly in the role, I was in a forgiving mood. The film was full of action and humor, cliffhangers and character; just like Stevens' creation. If there was anything to criticize, it was the toning down of Betty/Jenny. Yeah, I know, this is Disney, and she was far tamer in the comics than the real Betty/Bettie Page; but, hey, a guy can hope.

Bill Campbell was perfect for Cliff Secord. He had that All-American look, with an impish twinkle in his eye. Watching the movie, you could see the excitement when he was flying, and that he was head over heels in love with Jenny.

Alan Arkin made a great Peevy, although he was far less cantankerous than his print counterpart (incidentally, Peevy was based on Doug Wildey, creator of Jonny Quest). He was more of a Connecticut Yankee than grouchy mechanic.

Timothy Dalton made a great pseudo-Errol Flynn. I wasn't too happy that they trotted out that Flynn-as-Nazi Spy nonsense; but, it works beautifully for the story. Paul Sorvino made a great 30's mobster, too. Add Tiny Ron as Lothar, modeled after Rondo Hatton, and you have some pretty fun villains.

Then, there's Jennifer Connelly, one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in Hollywood. As I said, I had hoped for a little sexier character; but, the compromise was still pretty good. Connelly brought both a wholesomeness and sex appeal to the role. She looked great in the period clothing, too.

Everything about this film worked. The period detail was first rate, from the costumes, to he set design, to the slang. The only thing that would have improved this would have been to make more films. This is a great film for the whole family and captures the spirit of Republic and the pulps as well as Indiana Jones did.

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?"

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.