The Rocketeer (Film Review)
1991 Walt Disney Pictures
Directed by: Joe Johnston; Written by: Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo (based upon the comics by: Dave Stevens
Starring: Billy Campbell, Alan Arkin, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Sorvino, and Timothy Dalton
MPAA Rating: PG; Running Time: 108 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10
Cliff and Peevy have spent years preparing for air racing in their plane. Unfortunately, when Cliff takes the plane up for trials on their South California Valley airfield, he's shot down. when he comes between a mob versus fed car chase firefight. All seems lost, until Cliff finds an item the mob stashed in the plane hanger: an operable jetpack! After Peevy makes some modifications, Cliff takes to the air with the rocket pack, soon becoming a hero known as the Rocketeer. Meanwhile, Cliff's actress girlfriend, Jenny, is being seduced by movie star thespian, Neville Sinclair. It turns out, in these late 1930s, Neville has allegiances to a foreign power...in Europe. This foreign power wants the rocket pack. Little do Cliff and Jenny know, Neville and his German backers will do anything to get it.
1991's The Rocketeer, and its carefree, "golly gee" tone, feels out of time. Directed by Joe Johnston, the movie contains many of the aesthetics of the early Indiana Jones films, for which Johnston served as art director. Thus, Johnston is a perfect fit for this material, where the hero stands in front of an American flag, before blasting away and fighting against zeppelin-borne Nazis. The late 1930's, old school Hollywood, and old rural Southern California are all lovingly rendered, with Johnston and his crew operating at the top of their game.
As The Rocketeer, Billy Campbell portrays the kind of stoic, old school hero he was born to play, and it's a shame there was only one of these movies, and Campbell couldn't inhabit this part for another 20 years. An early career Jennifer Connelly is stunning as Jenny, while Alan Arkin turns in the kind of lovably gruff performance that made him beloved throughout his career. Meanwhile, James Bond himself, Timothy Dalton, delightfully chews scenery as the villainous Sinclair, having the time of his life. While Dalton plays against type, Paul Sorvino fills out the cast as a mobster who doesn't know who is backing him, and while Sorvino, to his chagrin, played these types of parts time and time again, he gives his all here, and is a tommy-gun full of fun.
The other filmmaking touches, from the fantastic sets and costumes, to James Horner's rousing score, all hit pay dirt. The Rocketeer might not have been a hit in 1991, but over 30 years later, that seems impossible.
Cliff and Peevy have spent years preparing for air racing in their plane. Unfortunately, when Cliff takes the plane up for trials on their South California Valley airfield, he's shot down. when he comes between a mob versus fed car chase firefight. All seems lost, until Cliff finds an item the mob stashed in the plane hanger: an operable jetpack! After Peevy makes some modifications, Cliff takes to the air with the rocket pack, soon becoming a hero known as the Rocketeer. Meanwhile, Cliff's actress girlfriend, Jenny, is being seduced by movie star thespian, Neville Sinclair. It turns out, in these late 1930s, Neville has allegiances to a foreign power...in Europe. This foreign power wants the rocket pack. Little do Cliff and Jenny know, Neville and his German backers will do anything to get it.
1991's The Rocketeer, and its carefree, "golly gee" tone, feels out of time. Directed by Joe Johnston, the movie contains many of the aesthetics of the early Indiana Jones films, for which Johnston served as art director. Thus, Johnston is a perfect fit for this material, where the hero stands in front of an American flag, before blasting away and fighting against zeppelin-borne Nazis. The late 1930's, old school Hollywood, and old rural Southern California are all lovingly rendered, with Johnston and his crew operating at the top of their game.
As The Rocketeer, Billy Campbell portrays the kind of stoic, old school hero he was born to play, and it's a shame there was only one of these movies, and Campbell couldn't inhabit this part for another 20 years. An early career Jennifer Connelly is stunning as Jenny, while Alan Arkin turns in the kind of lovably gruff performance that made him beloved throughout his career. Meanwhile, James Bond himself, Timothy Dalton, delightfully chews scenery as the villainous Sinclair, having the time of his life. While Dalton plays against type, Paul Sorvino fills out the cast as a mobster who doesn't know who is backing him, and while Sorvino, to his chagrin, played these types of parts time and time again, he gives his all here, and is a tommy-gun full of fun.
The other filmmaking touches, from the fantastic sets and costumes, to James Horner's rousing score, all hit pay dirt. The Rocketeer might not have been a hit in 1991, but over 30 years later, that seems impossible.
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