Director Joe Johnston may be known now for his work directingCaptain America: The First Avengerbut that movie wasn’t his first foray into the world of superheroes. In 1991 Johnston directedThe Rocketeer, an homage to the aesthetics of the 1930s and to the early sci-fi movies from that era. The movie is little known now but features special effects sequences created byIndustrial Light and Magic, jet packs, and Howard Hughes.
Although well-received by critics and audiences alike,The Rocketeerdidn’t do well at the box office, making only $46 million to the film’s $35 million budget. Plans for sequels were scrapped but small toy lines went ahead as planned and young adult novelizations were released to coincide with the film. In 2019 a television series based on the film aired on Disney Junior, featuring Billy Campbell reprising his starring role as Cliff Secord from the original. Echoing the original film, the show was well-received but canceled after one season. Surprisingly, a sequel is now on its way and is being produced by David Oyelowo and his wife, expected to land on Disney Plus and titledThe Return of The Rocketeer.Now thatthe property is back in the spotlight, it’s time to re-examine the original, flaws and all.
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Starring Billy Campbell as Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who stumbles upon a prototype jetpack and inadvertently becomes trapped in the middle of the FBI and actor Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) as both parties race to find the rocket first. Cliff and his engineer friend Peevy (Alan Arkin) are struggling for money, withtheir aircraft hangar spacein jeopardy due to the bills piling up and their latest aircraft crashing and burning on the airfield. Meanwhile, Cliff’s relationship with his burgeoning actress girlfriend Jenny (Jennifer Connolly) is on the rocks as he keeps the accident from her and minimizes her career. It just so happens that the movie Jenny has an extra role in stars Sinclair, who overhears Cliff telling her about the engine that he can strap to himself to fly. Naturally, Sinclair moves in on an upset Jenny to get the information he wants about the whereabouts of the rocket.
When one of his friends gets into trouble in the sky, Cliff blows his cover by taking on the mantle of The Rocketeer, showing the world the jetpack as he dashes to save his friend. Soon everyone is looking for him,the FBI, the mob, and Neville Sinclair. Another adversary looking for Billy is a giant man called Lothar, who is enlisted by Sinclair to track him down. This man is covered in heavy prosthetic makeup to give him a grotesque appearance. As a result of this, his face cannot move and the few lines he has are ADR and done quite badly. As with every good film set in the late 30s, there are also Nazis to be dealt with but their presence isn’t known until the last third of the film.
There is a lot to love aboutThe Rocketeer.The aesthetic alone is a great driving force. The 1930s costuming and set pieces are accented by the addition of Cliff’s helmet and the jetpack itself as perfect examples of the way the 30s viewed the future. The characters and script are well developed. Cliff Secord is effortlessly likable, Jennifer Connolly adds a vulnerability to Jenny that is endearing and Timothy Dalton excels at making Sinclair a sleazy, manipulative jerk. The action sequences hold up and remain exciting and engaging today. The soundtrack also soars in all the right places and is suitably epic for such anold-fashioned adventure.
As for the bad, it is minimal although noticeable. As mentioned previously, Lothar looks terrible and wholly out of place in the film. Nowhere else in the movie are there any noticeable makeup effects and the heavy-handed rubber mask is extremely distracting. The story, although engaging, is also a little heavy-handed with patriotism and the twee romance. There is also a hilarious moment towards the beginning of the movie where Billy is confronted by the FBI for the first time and while one of them lays into him, the other starts mouthing along with his lines.It’s subtle but it is distracting.
Overall,The Rocketeeris a charming flight into nostalgia that despite being a product of its time, still entertains. With a sequel in the works, it will be interesting to see how the mythology ofThe Rocketeeris continued and updated for a new audience. Early reports suggest that it will focus on a former Tuskegee Airman who inherits the jetpack and mantle of The Rocketeer. While it’s always interesting to see a new take on a character, it is a shame that there wasn’t more to see of Billy Campbell as Cliff Secord, a good-heartedpilot who saved the worldwhile only trying to save his girl.
