Review of The Rocketeer (1991) by Gareth R — 16 Jan 2009

At a glance, The Rocketeer has the ingredients for a hugely enjoyable superhero movie. A guy finds a rocket jetpack and must elude gangsters and Nazis, presumably while performing all sorts of derring-do. And it's directed by Joe Johnston, who made the hugely entertaining Honey, We Shrunk The Kids. So why is it so thuddingly dull?

Firstly, because our hero Cliff (Bill Campbell) doesn't do enough as the Rocketeer. He rescues a friend using his trusty jetpack, but spends the rest of his time simply avoiding capture, what with the jetpack being a much sought-after McGuffin. For a superhero film, there aren't nearly enough superheroics. Simple as that.

Secondly, Cliff is dead boring. Bill Campbell is just tedious to watch, and his casual relationship with Jenny (Jennifer Connelly, looking pretty and bosomy) conducts less electricity than a pair of Wellington boots. Iron Man also had a superhero who wasn't constantly doing super things, and that was perfectly enjoyable because of its dazzling leading man. I'm not suggesting that The Rocketeer could only work if Robert Downey Jnr were the lead; merely that, had the role gone to anyone other than Bill Campbell, it would be a better film.

Thirdly, the villain of the piece, Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton, playing a famed actor who is secretly a Nazi) is the most interesting and likeable person in it. Okay, much of his charm wears off when we find out about his Evil Agenda, but even then he's less drab to be around than Cliff. What with the notable absence, for the most part, of rockets, I spent much of The Rocketeer either waiting for Dalton's villain to be in it again, or getting distracted by Jennifer Connelly's unusually ample cleavage. (While we're on the subject, there's very little about Connelly's performance that will hold your interest, other than her choice of costumes.).

Everything else is either underwhelming or unwise. James Horner's music is repetitive and gag-inducingly syrupy. Both the FBI and the gangsters all dress the same, making the plot hard to follow. Tiny Ron, as hitman Lothar, is covered in so much bizarre make-up that he looks like he wandered off the cartoony (and superior) Dick Tracy; he doesn't fit at all. And when the action finally gets into gear at the end, with various armies all appearing to claim the jetpack, things just get ridiculous, rather than exciting.

There is, at least, a mild and pulpy watchability to The Rocketeer. It's sometimes funny, and on the brief occasions where Joe Johnston remembers that the audience might want to watch that Rocketeer bloke, it's great. Had someone thought to include more of that, or cast a leading man who can hold a scene without needing a helmet and a jetpack, The Rocketeer might have succeeded. As it is, it ticks by harmlessly enough and it's got a great villain, but you probably won't want to revisit it.