Review of The Rocketeer (1991) by Jason G — 16 Jul 2008

Wow...

Just finished re-watching this one for the first time in years and it's even better than I remembered!

THE ROCKETEER suffers from only 1 thing by my estimation...slightly dated special effects which could... (and should) have been avoided for 1 simple reason:

Disney has very, very deep pockets and a few more bucks would have "smoothed out" the obvious "blue-screen" flying sequences throughout the film. This WAS 1991 after all.... we were certainly capable of better special effects by then!

With that single, solitary negative out of the way... the path is clear for loads of positive approval however!

First... the film is well written and tremendous fun to watch. It's a love letter to Hollywood (with a great number of "tongue-in-cheek" comedic nods to the historical Hollywood of the 1930's)...

There are also a number of aknowledgements to the history of Aviation (which is obviously a central motivation and theme for the film) but sadly, lost on most audiences.

THE ROCKETEER was a cleverly written piece. A film that merits rewatching just so you can try to catch all the scatalogical references to real-life events you can find... and enhance your viewing pleasure each time you do....

At one point... Howard Hughes (ABC's LOST star: Terry O'Quinn) watches as young, Cliff Secord makes a daring escape using a replica model of a suspended aircraft... the over-sized model plane gracefully floats our suspended hero out of the building to freedom and Hughes quietly remarks...

"The son-of-a-bitch will fly".

Most people will miss the reference completely... but this comment is in reference to a real life aircraft called the SPRUCE GOOSE that Howard Hughes was building at the time.

It was the largest aircraft to have been built to that date... (and believed by many to be a huge waste of time and money for the eccentric Hughes as it was too large, heavy and cumbersome and would never fly)...

It did actually take wing in real life (for only a few seconds) and Hughes was able to prove his doubters wrong. This scene refers to the flight of the real life SPRUCE GOOSE which had not yet occurred in actual history.

This sort of thing is prevelant throughout the film... and is what makes THE ROCKETEER so endearing to me.

Unfortunately... most movie-goers don't know what a "Spruce Goose" is and don't realise that "HOLLYWOOD" used to be called "HOLLYWOODLAND" and have no idea who "BETTY PAGE" or "RONDO HATTON" is....

So.... even though it's still enjoyable to the average viewer, THE ROCKETEER has an amazing amount of "Easter Eggs" for the discriminating viewer too!

(Fine by me though.... I like being in on the secrets that only a few others will get)!

The cast is brilliant! Timothy Dalton absolutely oozes menace and pure evil... Connelly is beautiful to look at and does a great job as Secord's long-suffering girlfriend). Alan Arkin is fun to watch (as usual) and the supporting cast is excellent too!

Bill Campbell, by the way... is absolutely perfect for the part. Critics were particularily harsh on him when the film was initially released, but Campbell did very well with the part...

The sets and locales are spot-on.. the airplanes, moods, themes, music, settings are incredibly authentic and consistent...

You will love this film! You can watch it with your kids.... your parents... your grandparents.... there's something here for EVERYONE.

Action, comedy, romance... and it easily ranks in my top 10 "best movies based on a comic-book" list ever.

(Really though.... it's so much more than that).

A feel-good movie.

A sure-fire winner!

See it!