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Rating:  -
The Rocketeer is one of the most enjoyable action-adventure movies ever made. Everything about this film is wonderful. Director Joe Johnson perfectly captures the look and feel of Hollywood (or what Hollywood should look and feel like) during the 1930s. Great casting with Bill Campbell right on target at Cliff Secord, Jennifer Connelly as his best girl, Jenny Blake, Alan Arkin as Cliff's mentor and mechanic/inventor friend, and Timothy Dalton as the evil Nazi spy-movie star Neville Sinclair. Like Raiders of the Lost Ark, it is a homage to the film serials of the period, but with a lot more spit and polish. The special effects are great, the set decoration, costumes, makeup, all evoke the time and place perfectly. A wonderful script adapted from the graphic novel of the same name sets this movie apart from others in this genre. The dialogue is funny, fast and at sometimes furious. Campbell plays the All-American boy with a real gee whiz, almost Jimmy Stewart kind of charm. The plot about a secret plan by the Nazis to build rocket packs for an army of "Rocketeers" to take over the world is added and abetted by Dalton as the Errol Flynn-like movie star. When a prototype rocket pack accidentally ends up in the hands of Campbell and Arkin, the action, and their troubles, really start. This film is filled with dozens of wonderful characterizations. Some of the best are Paul Sorvino as gangster Eddie Valentine, Terry O'Quinn as Howard Hughes, and Tiny Ron as Lothar. The musical score by James Horner is outstanding. It's heroic, quiet and inspiring. Why this film didn't turn out to be the big blockbuster it should have been is beyond me. I love Raiders of the Lost Ark, but this film matches it in almost every category. One of my favorite modern films, I never tire of watching it. Perfect entertainment and perfect for all ages. The Rocketeer is a real winner.
Rating: -
This is NOT a modern movie, it is a movie that is what the old adventure serials would have liked to have been. The cast is uniformly excellent, but you have to think back to "The Red Skull" serial to understand what they are doing. There is no winking at the camera as in the Indiana Jones movies (which I also like very much) -- this is straight, square-jawed Boy Scout hero fights sneaky villians, with the help of beautiful, plucky girlfriend and mechanical genius sidekick/father-figure. It is an excellent family movie.
The movie has some nice movie-buff jokes, which I enjoyed (the character from "The Pearl of Death" was a lot of fun), and loving attention is paid by the set-designers to details of the thirties in Southern California (as far as I can tell from old photos and talking to natives of the area) and to the aviation industry of the time (according to my father, who was and is a buff starting during that period). In any event the movie looks great and feels "authentic".
I don't understand why this movie was such a flop -- I can see that it wasn't going to make the imact of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but it should have done well enough to rate a sequel. However, the movie trailer on the DVD convinced me that the marketing people at Disney failed to advertise the movie correctly, and I certainly remember being surprised (although pleasantly) when I saw it in a theater.
Rating:  -
This is the sort of film for which the superlatives "golly gee!" and "gosh, wow!" apply quite nicely. If you've ever wondered what those 1930s serials about heroes and damsels in distress and cackling bad guys were like that your grandfolks enjoyed so many years ago, this film offers a great facimile of those addictive serials! "The Rocketeer" has that quality of whiz-bang action and whooshing excitement that makes serials so much fun.
In fact, this film is based upon a comic book novel that was a tribute to those serials. As a result, the plot line has a familiar ring to it - our handsome hero (Campbell) and his sweet and lovely main squeeze (the ever-easy-on-the-eyes Jennifer Connelly) run into trouble after the hero discovers a stolen prototype jet-pack circa 1938. Our hero dons the jet-pack and voila, he becomes The Rocketeer! Unfortunately, the mob is after him and the feds are after him. Everyone wants that jet-pack! Along the way, there are ugly mean henchmen, rat-a-tat-tat machine gun fights, a great rocketman rescue in the air, swooning heroines, and fun swash-buckling sword-fights (yes!). Wait, there's more! There are great exploding blimp-airships and bang-up car chases and funky Howard Hugh prototype airplanes. And where would we be in a 1930ish film without a few rascally nazis?
So, what more could you ask for? Cheer for the hero and hiss at the villains! This film has that same "golly gee" sense of yesteryear fun that the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark" had. Sure, it's all light, fluffy stuff, but it's good clean fun for the entire family! A few words about the DVD, which I bought. This is one of Disney's early DVDs. Unfortunately, Disney's early DVDs usually had non-anamorphic transfers, expensive prices, nonexistent extras, and just so-so picture quality. This DVD has those problems; the picture quality at times shows edge enhancement or shimmering. And the dark scenes have a fuzzy, muddy appearance to them. Sound quality is average but booms at the appropriate times in the movie. I just wish Disney had spent more time on a better video transfer. But still, it's a fun film! I rate this film four stars, but just keep in mind that the DVD version is not up to par with Disney's later DVDs.
Rating: -
Bill Cambell Stars As A Young Test Pilot Who Transforms Into A Jet-Propelled Hero When Nazi Agents Attempt To Recover A Top Secret Invention That Lands In His Lap...His Discovery Of This Flight Pack Leads To An Adventure Of Mystery, Suspense, And Drama...With His Girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) By His Side, Cliff (Cambell) Encounters A Number Of Villans Including One Nazi Spy (Timothy Dalton) Which Leads Only To An Extraordinary Tale And An Exciting Plot...
Rating:  -
I will not say what others have said about the movie!Instead I will tell others thinking of buying this DVD,rent it first! There are no trialers,production notes,behind the camera,cast/crew bios etc! The DVD itself is Ok, but I often thought I was listening to my VCR(with the on my tv,although small, seems like movie theater! ). So if are thinking about buying this DVD, yuo've been warned that this a very bare bones DVD of a great action movie everyone can enjoy!
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Action & Adventure