So, I’m flipping through my Netflix options, looking for something clean and fun I can watch with Geek Spawn. And I stumble upon: The Rocketeer! Oh yeah!
I’ve seen it before. And I’ll see it again. It’s not the greatest super hero flick ever made. It’s better than The Phantom, not as good as Batman. But it’s totally fun, thoroughly clean, very exciting, and with just a hint of Hollywood history. If you’re looking for an action movie you can watch with the kids, give this one a whirl.
Brief summary (without spoilers): Cliff is a airplane racer testing out his plane in 1938. An FBI chase leads some gangsters to leave a mysterious stolen rocket pack in Cliff’s hanger. After some experimenting with it, he realizes the gangsters want it back and decides to give it back to its creator, Howard Hughes. But it’s not so easy. Jenny, Cliff’s girlfriend and a wannabe actress, is in a movie with the man who hired the mobsters: silver screen heartthrob, Neville Sinclair.
Bill Campbell plays Cliff. He has had several acting roles, but I don’t know any of his other work at all. He is forevermore The Rocketeer! The beautiful Jennifer Connelly plays Jenny. You know her from Hulk, A Beautiful Mind, or if you wanna go way back, Labyrinth. She does a terrific job as the damsel in distress. Timothy Dalton (James Bond #4), Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino and Terry O’Quinn (John Locke on Lost) round out the cast.
The movie looks at old Hollywood in the styles and comments of Jenny and Neville Sinclair. It shows off a bit of the state of the world at that time with some animated World War II footage recycled directly from the Disney propaganda films of the 40s. It also lets us in on some early technology with the rocketpack itself, not to mention some of Howard Hughes’ other designs!
All that to say: Yes, this is still a terrific movie! It was made in 1991, but set in the late 30s. So, now 24 years later, it doesn’t look dated. It’s a wild ride and a clean adventure! Give it a shot! …Or watch it again!
Have you already seen it? Did you love it? Comment me!
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