Rent The Rocketeer on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the graphic novel (paid link)
Written by: Dave Stevens (graphic novel "The Rocketeer"), Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo & William Dear (story), Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo (screenplay)
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Starring: Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, Terry O'Quinn
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
A young pilot stumbles onto a prototype jet pack that allows him to become a high-flying, masked hero.
Verdict
This was a super hero movie before we were inundated. I love this premise, and the art deco style makes this unique. The design of the costume remains iconic. The early setting lends itself to the earnestness of the characters. Unfortunately the rest of the movie is mostly by the numbers. Nazis are used as a shortcut to create bad guys and the characters are mostly flat, but the poster for the movie sure is cool.
It depends.
Review
It's such a simple yet effective premise. What could one man do with a jet pack? The answer is become a super hero.
Cliff's (Billy Campbell) stunt plane is destroyed during a police chase forcing him to land prematurely and in turn completely destroy the plane. The police are after a pair of brothers that stole a rocket that turns out to be a jet pack. The thieves happen to hide the jet pack in Cliff's hangar before they're apprehended. Cliff finds it and wants to use it as part of their new show to recoup the loss of the plane.
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| Billy Campbell plays Cliff Secord |
It's quite the coincidence that the guy that ordered the jet pack stolen, Sinclair (Timothy Dalton), is also a movie star working with Cliff's actress girlfriend Jenny (Jennifer Connelly). Sinclair even manages to hear Cliff tell Jenny about the jet pack he found.
The Rocketeer is born when Cliff must save a friend in a faulty plane. I'm pretty sure in reality Cliff would have crashed spectacularly while learning the controls. Instead he make a death defying rescue. Sinclair and the FBI knows someone in the area has the jet pack, and they soon trace it to Cliff. Sinclair uses his position as a movie star and invites Jenny on a date.
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| Billy Campbell plays The Rocketeer |
Cliff uses the rocket to escape Sinclair's thugs after him and in turn attempt to save Jenny. It turns out the Nazis are after the jet pack. They want to create a company of flying soldiers, and they need that jet pack that was designed by Howard Hughes.
This culminates with Cliff on a rigid airship facing off against the main bad guy. Cliff is forced to give up his jet pack in a difficult decision. A crash, as part of the finale, explains why the Hollywoodland sign is now just Hollywood. It's a fun movie, and the setting adds a nice dimension. A jet pack in the 1930s is the perfect technology for the time. This early setting also lends credibility to the earnestness of the characters. Set in the modern day, I'd expect the characters to by a bit more cynical. While I like the idea, I wish there are more to this. More development for any of the characters would add emotional stakes.
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| Title Card |
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