When an elderly colleague experiences trouble during a stunt show, pilot Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) straps on the mysterious prototype jet-pack found stashed in the cockpit of his plane and unwittingly becomes the news sensation known as The Rocketeer; he also becomes the target of dashing Hollywood star/Nazi spy Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton), who plans to develop the amazing invention for use in a planned aerial assault on the US by German troops.
Even with an undeniably fun concept, a great cast, and every tool in ILM's special effects arsenal at his disposal, Spielberg acolyte Joe Johnston fails to turn pulp-style comic-book Rocketeer into the absolutely awesome movie it could so easily have been. How? With too much talk and not enough rocketeering!
For a film based on a character who can blast through the sky with the aid of a jet-propelled back pack, The Rocketeer features surprisingly little aerial action, instead spending much of its time set on terra firmer. There's plenty of intrigue and suspense as Sinclair's hired goons (which include a hulking Rondo Hatton lookalike) try to locate the pack, and Jennifer Connelly as Cliff's gorgeous girlfriend is a pleasantly diverting sight (boy, would I like to get my hands on her massive twin boosters!) but none of this is a truly satisfying substitute for lots of fast and furious, rocket powered action.
Even with an undeniably fun concept, a great cast, and every tool in ILM's special effects arsenal at his disposal, Spielberg acolyte Joe Johnston fails to turn pulp-style comic-book Rocketeer into the absolutely awesome movie it could so easily have been. How? With too much talk and not enough rocketeering!
For a film based on a character who can blast through the sky with the aid of a jet-propelled back pack, The Rocketeer features surprisingly little aerial action, instead spending much of its time set on terra firmer. There's plenty of intrigue and suspense as Sinclair's hired goons (which include a hulking Rondo Hatton lookalike) try to locate the pack, and Jennifer Connelly as Cliff's gorgeous girlfriend is a pleasantly diverting sight (boy, would I like to get my hands on her massive twin boosters!) but none of this is a truly satisfying substitute for lots of fast and furious, rocket powered action.