The Rocketeer (1991)

As a kid The Rocketeer ranked among my favorite action / adventure films. It proved a hero didn't require super human powers, or fancying fighting moves, only courage and a heart of gold. Seventeen years later The Rocketeer still holds up as a classic film, something every kid should experience. The Rocketeer was based on a very brief comic series by Dave Stevens, who recently passed away in March at the age of 52 from leukemia. Dave was also a storyboard artist for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Michael Jackson's Thriller, but The Rocketeer was his claim to fame, and helped to bring this little known comic series to the silver screen.

Bill Campbell stars as Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot down on his luck when his plane is shot down by mobsters in a shootout with the FBI. The FBI is after a stolen machine created by Howard Hughes, a rocket pack that would allow a man to fly, if placed in control of the wrong person the rocket could be used as a weapon. The mobsters are able to give the FBI the slip for enough time to stash the rocket in Secord's hanger, which Cliff later discovers and with the help of his friend and mechanic, Peevy, is able to modify the rocket pack for safer human use.

Planning to use the rocket in air shows to make some extra money to pay off their debts, Cliff ends up using it to save a fellow pilot and the Rocketeer is born. But the publicity doesn't turn out to be such a good thing, as the mob, the FBI and famed actor Neville Sinclair (whose secretly a Nazi) are all after the rocket pack and Peevy, Cliff and his girlfriend Jenny Blake are about to have their lives turned upside down!

 

If you're looking for a fun, smart and action packed serial adventure look no further than The Rocketeer. This film has everything you could possibly ask for in a period piece adventure film: mobsters, Nazis, airplanes, a rocket pack, a beautiful leading lady and a fantastic musical score. The Rocketeer is Indiana Jones meets The Aviator, a very rare serial style comic adaptation that's sure to please most viewers. A strong cast of actors such as Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton and Alan Arkin, and a few familiar faces from current popular TV shows such as Terry O'Quinn from Lost and brief appearance from Melora Hardin (Jan Levison) from The Office, help to make The Rocketeer more than just another comic book film. The flying scenes are strikingly realistic, and the musical score helps to solidify the film as a serial classic. If you're a fan of serial adventures like Indiana Jones and The Mummy, and a fan of the Howard Hughes era you won't be disappointed by The Rocketeer. It's really a shame they never turned this into a franchise.

8/10