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Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino ... see more see more... , Ed Lauter , Terry O'Quinn , James Handy , Tiny Ron , Robert Miranda , John LavachieIIi , Eddie Jones , Julian Barnes , Danielle Bedau , William Boyett , Richard T. Brickert , Peter Bromilow , Pat Crawford Brown , Michael Francis Clarke , Perry Cook , Chance Michael Corbitt , Joseph D'Angelo , Gene Daily , Paul De Souza , Nada Despotovich , Lila Finn , Mike Finneran , Paul Forsyth , William Frankfather , Peter Frankland , Scanlon Gail , Taylor Gilbert , Max Grodénchik , Melora Hardin , Darryl Henriques , Steve Hinton , Craig Hosking , Clint Howard , Thomas Huff , Heinrich James , Ele Keats , Tom Kindle , Bob Leeman , Kristopher Logan , America Martin , Margo Martindale , Doug McGrath , Kathleen Michaels , Michael Milhoan , Daniel O'Shea , Rick Overton , Lisa Pedersen , Jon Polito , Herman Poppe , David Pressman , Arlee Reed , Lori Lynn Ross , William Sanderson , Bob Sandman , Kim Sebastian , Charlie Stavola , Bill Turner , Sam Vincent , Norbert Weisser , Chuck Wentworth , Merritt Yohnka , Jim Franklin , Don Pugsley , Richard Warlock , Dave Adams , Tom Tully , Billy Campbell

After getting his start as a visual effects artist on the original Star Wars trilogy, Spielberg protege Joe Johnston found success as a director with his debut film, the blockbuster family adventure H... read more read more...oney, I Shrunk the Kids. For his sophomore outing, Johnston helmed this action-adventurer, set in 1930s Hollywood and in the spirit of old pulp comics and adventure serials, and co-adapted from the David Stevens graphic novel by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo. Bill Campbell stars as Cliff Secord, an eager young pilot who finds himself in possession of a secret jet-pack that gives him the ability to fly. Cliff soon learns that screen-star Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) will stop at nothing to get his hands on the rocket pack so he can give it to the Nazis. As The Rocketeer and with a little help from his mechanic friend played by Alan Arkin, it's up to Cliff to elude Sinclair, defeat the Nazis, and save his girlfriend Jenny (Jennifer Connelly). ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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54% liked it

54,879 ratings

Critics

61% liked it

57 critics

PG, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Release Date: January 1, 1991

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DVD Release Date: July 17, 2001

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Stats: 1,884 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,884)

  • lewiskendell
    May 30, 2012
    lewiskendell
    "It wasn't lies, Jenny. It was acting."

    The Rocketeer, seen in 2012, is understandably a little cheesy and a little old-fashioned. But, in a good way. In 1991, something as simple as a small-town guy with a jet-pack still sounded like an idea exciting enough to make a movie abou... read moret, and a pretty enjoyable one, at that.

    Billy Campbell (Cliff) is likable as a young pilot, desperate to make his mark on the world and show his girl (Jennifer Connelly, at the height of her amazing beauty), that he's a man who's going places. He stumbles onto a rocket-pack that's being pursued by all sorts unsavory characters, and the entire town and his girlfriend end up getting caught between the FBI, gangsters, shady actors, and even more unsavory characters as Cliff tries to save the day and get his girl back.

    The Rocketeer is basically a moderately fun action-adventure family movie that won't blow any minds or drop any jaws these days, but it's definitely good for a viewing. Especially for Jennifer Connelly fans, because wow, she's impossibly lovely in this one.

    It's nice to be reminded that once, all you needed to be a hero was a jet-pack, a solid right punch, a girl you loved, and a desire to do the right thing.
  • cosmo313
    December 23, 2011
    cosmo313
    Our story takes place in Hollywood in 1938 and concerns a test pilot named Cliff who stumbles upon a rocket powered jetpack designed by Howard Hughes that is desperately wanted by the Nazis. Along the way, there's plenty of intrigue with G Men, gangsters, and a rather shady Holly... read morewood film icon.

    This movie has classic old Hollywood nostalgia and fantasy all over it. As a kid I watched this film many times and dug it wuite a lot. Over time I slowly forgot about it, but then I happened to see that it was on tv this morning, so I gave it a watch for old time's sake.

    I'm happy to say that it's still a good movie. It hasn't aged great, and my nostalgia has a fair bearing on it, but the movie is just supposed to be good old fashioned fun that taps into youthful fantasy and adventure. It's very much in love with the past, and the tone has a "golly gee" and "shucks" type of innocence that you just don't really get too often anymore.

    Joe Johnston did a decent job here as director, the score by James Horner is very fitting, and the performances, though nothing excellent are a lot of fun. Something I was able to appreciate now that I didn't before were the art direction and set design. The art deco inspiration for the helmet is just cool. I've seen other films do a better job of bringing the late 30s to life, but they do okay here.

    All in all, this isn't something to be taken too seriously, but it's a harmless piece of well meaning fun, so go on and give it a chance.
  • CloudStrife84
    October 5, 2011
    CloudStrife84
    High-flying fun! I knew nothing of this film prior to seeing it, so I had no idea what to expect. Not many minutes went by though, before I got completely immersed into its wonderful story. As one of the first pioneers within the comic book genre, this film blazed a great trail f... read moreor future franchises. The special effects are far from breath-taking, but for a pre-CGI production, they're pretty good considering. Quite the qualitative cast as well, which among many include a career-best Timothy Dalton, a stunning Jennifer Connelly and a brilliant Terry O'Quinn as the famous aviator Howard Hughes. All topped off by a magnificent soundtrack, composed by musical genius James Horner. A truly underrated adventure, with the same old-fashioned matinee feel of the classic Indiana Jones films. So for those wondering how Joe Johnston - the man behind such blandness as Hidalgo and The Wolfman - were given the honor to make the new Captain America, watch this and you'll wonder no more. Two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert, and that's exactly what it gets from me now as well.
  • phubbs1
    August 17, 2011
    phubbs1
    Its a real shame this film bombed so much at the box office, I really can't understand why it did so badly as its one of the best comicbook adaptations around, it captures the all American spirit of the time and harnesses that glorious 30's feel with every frame, Johnston really ... read moredid superbly well with this film.

    Just from seeing the old movie poster for the cinemas shows you how much care and attention to detail went into this film, the poster has a fantastic art deco design simply of the heroic character, its simple and minimal but does the job a thousand times over, I love it, one of the best posters made.

    Although the character was created in 82 its an obvious homage to pulp comicbooks and matinee/serial hero characters of the 30's/40's, the idea is simple but works so so well. The whole film has that 'Indy' feel to it and completes a trilogy of classic pulp comicbook superheroes alongside 'The Shadow' and 'The Phantom'....in my opinion.

    The film is nothing but fun and doesn't pretend to be serious or shy away from the ham n cheese, Dalton is the dastardly caddish villain who clearly is suppose to be Errol Flynn, Connelly is the damsell in distress, Sorvino is the classic American gangster in Al Capone style, O'Quinn plays Howard Hughes amazingly well and Tiny Ron is a character straight out of 'Dick Tracy'. New boy Campbell also does really well as the lead character giving the role a fresh feel and no ego problems which tend to come with big names.

    The film looks great and has some terrific design work, the rocket pack looks cool and practical as does the helmet with its rudder fin on the top. Effects are decent enough with allot of bluescreen but of course nowadays look rather iffy but add to that some lovely stunt work and nice use of many old planes and cars. Plot is straight forward but does get abit beyond itself towards the finale, like how on earth a huge Nazi Zeppelin would be able to fly into the US undetected but I guess it is suppose to be the 30's so who knows. I must also mention the brilliant animated black n white short in the middle of the flick which shows the Nazi's intentions with the rocket pack, really nicely done and could almost be a separate film in itself.

    I really can't fault this film in any way, sure its silly but its well worked escapism and an affectionate tribute to the era which anyone would have fun watching, without taking anything away from the creators you could almost say its like an adventure out of a young Indiana Jones early life/career, a prequel maybe ;)
  • riverdale237
    July 26, 2011
    riverdale237
    You know, for all it's down right cheesiness, I actually really liked "The Rocketeer". Sure, Timothy Dalton was horrifically overacting as the villain, and it can get boring at times, but I really liked it and found it a great way to kick of Joe Johnston's career.

    There were t... read morewo things I really didn't like about the movie. First of all, I thought that Timothy Dalton did a bad job as the villain. Also, I wish the movie could be more dark. Pretty much every good superhero movie I've seen has a bit of darkness, but this one not so much.

    The characters are the highlight. It has the perfect protaginist underdog, a struggling pilot who comes across a jet pack meant to be given to an evil Nazi actor. I also liked Alan Irkin's role as his sidekick.

    The special affects were pretty good too. This was a time when "Howard the Duck" could have been seen as a special affects extravaganza/

    As far as the plot goes, it's above average for 1990's superhero films. I won't give it away. Joe Johnston did a fantastic job directing this movie, clearly practice for his 2010 masterpiece "The Wolfman".

    Over all, I really liked this movie. I really, REALLY liked it.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    July 10, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Joe Jonhston's The Rocketeer is a thrilling period piece full of action and a good cast. However, I felt that there was something missing in this film to truly make it exciting. The film was exciting, but there was always a feeling that the hero was never in real danger. Maybe it... read more's because that this was a Disney film and no one is supposed to get truly hurt in it's action sequences that I felt that. Johnston second directorial effort is an improvement over his first feature: Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. I thought that this film was better made, plotted and more fun. There are a few things that could have been changed. For what it is, The Rocketeer is action packed film that is a lot of fun, but like I said because of the fact that this film was produced by Disney, there's not a lot of violent content, and you'd expect a superhero to be life threatened on a few occasions, right? Not really the case in this film. The cast that Johnston has assembled here are a great bunch of varied talent. But for me the best on screen is Jennifer Connelly. I thought she was great in her part. For what it is, The Rocketeer is definitely an entertaining film to watch. The film is a lot of fun, with great acting. But it's clear that there are things that could have been done netter. A good film from Joe Johnston, but not his best.
  • fb619846742
    June 4, 2011
    fb619846742
    An average adventure film featuring ridiculous dialogue but a likable lead character and a fun little story. Timothy Dalton as the villain here is also a stroke of genius, since he's pretty much a blast in any role. A perfect little PG adventure for kids that adults can like as w... read moreell.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    April 2, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "Three years before the United States declares war, Cliff Secord leads America's first battle against the Nazis."

    A young pilot stumbles onto a prototype jetpack that allows him to become a high flying masked hero.

    R
    ... read moreEVIEW
    A delightful throwback to the cliffhanger serials of yesteryear, 'The Rocketeer' is an underrated adaptation of Dave Stevens's wonderful comic. Spirited and perfectly cast, it spins its tale of Nazis, damsels in distress, hulking thugs, Hollywood glamour, brave pilots and derring-do with a beguiling innocence. Joe Johnston directs with a wonderfully light touch, the production design and photography evoke the era like a nostalgic dream, and James Horner's rousing music is utterly magical, one of the best scores to come out of the '90s. The flying sequences are where the movie steps up a gear, sending the perfectly recreated Rocketeer into the wide open skies with a feeling of freedom and a strangely emotional tone; the air show rescue is a particularly fine set piece.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 27, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    A classic Disney live action adventure.
  • Chiefilms
    November 16, 2009
    Chiefilms
    Good childhood movie with excellent set costumes with vintage looks. Some flaws here and there but exciting.

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman
July 6, 2010
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

A piece of blandly enthusiastic, B-movie pulp. Full Review

April 18, 2007
Variety

This $40 million adventure fantasy puts a shiny polish on familiar elements: airborne hero, damsel in distress, Nazi villains, 1930s Hollywood glamor, and dazzling special effects. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 18, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The whole thing is good-natured enough, but increasingly mechanical. Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Plenty of energy has gone into making this a bustling, visually clever film with an amusing late-1930's stylishness, but the purpose of such effort is uncertain. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The film is awash in all kinds of surprises that are too juicy to reveal.

James Berardinelli
February 13, 2001
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The Rocketeer may not be perfect, but it's an excellent example of how to adapt a comic book to the screen. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

You have to dial down, to return to an age of innocence when an eccentric inventor and a clear-eyed hero could take on the bad guys with a new gizmo they'd dreamed up overnight. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

It's a humble little item, actually, easily digested and easily forgotten. Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

Based on a comic book, deliciously corny but not campy, "The Rocketeer" is the movie Dick Tracy and Batman wanted to be. Full Review

R. L. Shaffer
January 29, 2012
R. L. Shaffer, IGN DVD

A charming adventure tale, in the spirit of 1930's serials, The Rocketeer is a fun ride. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Howard Hughes: How did it feel, strapping that thing to your back and flying like a bat out of hell?
    • Cliff Secord: Well it's the closest I'll ever get to heaven, Mr. Hughes.
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The Rocketeer Trivia

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