The Rocketeer (1991)
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The Rocketeer (1991)
Though the Rocketeer hearkens back to very old-fashioned super-heroics and takes place in the bygone era of 1938, it's based on a fairly recent comic book creation, written and illustrated by Dave Stevens for Pacific Comics starting in 1982. The original concept, with its detailed, painstaking art, evoked thoughts of a certain time - not necessarily just pre-World War II but the whole panorama of a more innocent, more decent time stretching from the thirties through the fifties. This was evident in the depiction of the hero's girlfriend, modeled on famous pin-up Bettie Page, who was known for nude, racy pictures but still suggested the nice, girl-next door persona. Some of this was lost in this film version, but it remains a good, old-fashioned adventure with a touch of the fantastic.
The fantastic element of the picture is a jetpack or rocket pack - a device that a person can strap to their back and fly with - developed by none other than eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (Terry O'Quinn). The hero is Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell), a stunt flyer who comes into possession of the rocket pack by accident. He and his mechanic (Alan Arkin) test it out, much to Secord's delight, but this soon brings them into involvement with a movie star (Timothy Dalton as an evil Errol Flynn-type) who is secretly a Nazi agent. Eventually, it's revealed that the Nazis plan on an army of Rocketeers to easily conquer the world with, a different way to wage the 2nd World War. Also figuring into the plot is Secord's on/off girl (Jennifer Connelly) and a huge henchman (Tiny Ron Taylor) modeled on famous horror star Rondo Hatton.
The film version of this heroic saga removed some of the more spicy elements (Secord's girl posed nude in the comic book but is simply an actress in the film) and aimed everything at a family audience. As a result, it can't help but be a little flat in its presentation, with the sense that it's playing it safe during much of the story. It's all strictly good, wholesome family entertainment, resembling many Disney pictures of the sixties. But, for what it is, it's pretty good. The cast is overall reliable and up for the challenge of thirties-styled melodramatics, and there's some resemblance to the Indiana Jones pictures and the later The Phantom (1996). BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
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Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Semi-Science Fiction Films :: Super-Heroes in Cinema
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