The movie takes place in 1938 Los Angeles. Pilot Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) is in love with struggling actress Jenny Blake (Jennifer Connelly) but he can't seem to hold down a job and is always thinking of big plans that never work out. Meanwhile some gangsters steal a rocket powered jet backpack from the government but it ends up with Secord and his scientist friend (Alan Arkin)...but the government and gangsters want it...and the evil Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) will do anything to get it.
This film has a lot going for it. It looks beautiful--the costumes and sets look exactly like the late 30s were (I think). The South Seas club especially is a dazzler. The movie never takes itself too seriously (when Campbell sees the helmet he's supposed to wear he says, "He's got to be kidding"), the special effects are good and I got a kick out of the bad guy made out to look like Rondo Hatton. Also Arkin nicely underplays his role and Terry O'Quinn (as Howard Hughes) and Dalton are obviously enjoying themselves. Still it doesn't work.
The script is on the level of a very dumb comic book and the story just isn't engaging enough. Also Campbell is good--he's tall, handsome and has the gee-whiz enthusiasm down--but he's too old for the role. He's was in his early 30s when he did this and looks it. However Connelly is worse--she's very beautiful and can be good but she's a total blank here. Also the costume is kind of cool...but why don't his pants ever catch on fire? No way he could use that rocket device without burning his legs off. That bothered me during the whole movie. The movie also goes veering out of control at the end (Nazis?? A ZEPPELIN???). So it was a good try but misses the mark.
Disney spent a LOT of money on this. It was expected to be a huge hit and Disney actually sent out a memo when this was in production--they said every movie they were making was to be kept on a strict budget--except for the Rocketeer. Then it came out and bombed quickly. Why it did is not quite clear and it's really too bad. This could have been the big break for Campbell but it wasn't and Connelly would have to wait a few more years till she hit it big.
So not as bad as I have heard but no unsung masterpiece. And again--WHY didn't his legs get burnt?
This film has a lot going for it. It looks beautiful--the costumes and sets look exactly like the late 30s were (I think). The South Seas club especially is a dazzler. The movie never takes itself too seriously (when Campbell sees the helmet he's supposed to wear he says, "He's got to be kidding"), the special effects are good and I got a kick out of the bad guy made out to look like Rondo Hatton. Also Arkin nicely underplays his role and Terry O'Quinn (as Howard Hughes) and Dalton are obviously enjoying themselves. Still it doesn't work.
The script is on the level of a very dumb comic book and the story just isn't engaging enough. Also Campbell is good--he's tall, handsome and has the gee-whiz enthusiasm down--but he's too old for the role. He's was in his early 30s when he did this and looks it. However Connelly is worse--she's very beautiful and can be good but she's a total blank here. Also the costume is kind of cool...but why don't his pants ever catch on fire? No way he could use that rocket device without burning his legs off. That bothered me during the whole movie. The movie also goes veering out of control at the end (Nazis?? A ZEPPELIN???). So it was a good try but misses the mark.
Disney spent a LOT of money on this. It was expected to be a huge hit and Disney actually sent out a memo when this was in production--they said every movie they were making was to be kept on a strict budget--except for the Rocketeer. Then it came out and bombed quickly. Why it did is not quite clear and it's really too bad. This could have been the big break for Campbell but it wasn't and Connelly would have to wait a few more years till she hit it big.
So not as bad as I have heard but no unsung masterpiece. And again--WHY didn't his legs get burnt?