November has given this critic a void of nothingness. With Thanksgiving films being basically nonexistent, besides the obvious –but-unallowed by school standards “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”, and my inability to review a DVD that is relevant to the current affairs of film this month, only one option seems to be left until December comes- need to pull something out of the obscurity bag.
So……..The Rocketeer is Disney’s 1991 Action film, based off the classic comic book series by Dave Stevens. It is the story of Clifford Secord, played by Bill Campbell a late 1930’s small town pilot who comes across an experimental jetpack after having his plane shot down by members of the mafia. He uses the jetpack to become a superhero, without knowing that actor Neville Sinclair, played by Timothy Dalton, has the mafia hot on his tail to take the jetpack for himself, while the FBI chases down the lost experiment as well. It’s up to Clifford to save himself and his town, and uncover Sinclair’s plot as to why he wants the jetpack.
This movie’s writing is shockingly well handled, despite its being a 90’s live action Disney film, which are notorious for how low quality they usually are. This more than transcends that stereotype. The film’s dialogue is written in a classic film style, one that would feel right at home in a Thirties adventure film. The story follows that same idea, having that old-style adventure feeling to it. For fans of the Indiana Jones films, this is story will seem very in regard to those. However, the story has several ideas that could have been built on, like the reason that Cliff loves to fly, what the rocket means to him, basic character exercises.
Also, for what is essentially a comic book film, there is very little action throughout the story. Not to say that the drama that takes its place isn’t good, because it is quite welcome and needed, but for a film like this, more action is needed to draw the audience in, and this film’s action happening mostly in the final act may have helped result in its obscurity to today’s audiences.
As far as characterization goes, this critic finds himself quite mixed on his feelings towards the handling of this aspect. Clifford makes a perfect lead character, being a good natured young man who unfortunately suffers from great arrogance and simple mindedness and throughout the film has to face these negative attributes. He gets the most study throughout the film, and he is a dynamic character. However, this is the most character development the film really gets. Cliff’s girlfriend Jenny, played excellently by Jennifer Connelly, is a fun character, a strong and intelligent woman who is dedicated to her pursuit of an acting career, and refuses to fall into the stereotypes of the era. Though her character is fun to watch, and her scenes are fantastic to watch, she doesn’t develop or change throughout the film, and the audience does not get to really know who she is, or why she thinks the way she thinks, being that she is a strong and independent woman in an age that usually condemned that idea. The villain, Neville Sinclair, is also an enjoyable character to watch, but has no real motivations to his villainy, and the audience is left out in the cold as to why he does the things he does. In the simplest sense, he is a classic villain, which unfortunately does not make the cut in an age where even the villain of the story is expected to be understood as a human.
Other characters don’t get developed at all. Most are just background characters, which while likeable, don’t impact the story much, or leave an impact on the audience from their time in the film. The greatest perpetrator of this issue is the character of Peavy Peabody, Clifford’s mechanic friend. Peavy gets set up for character exploration, but never receives it. He doesn’t change, he doesn’t really have an interesting personality, and he’s simply forgettable. Its rather unfortunate how varied this characterization is in quality, as the film probably would be better remembered if it took time to develop and create the other characters of the story.
Acting is one of this film’s strong suits, with nearly the entire cast being famous for films that they were involved in later in their careers. Bill Campbell gives a good performance as the lead, making Cliff a likeable character, and feeling human enough to play the role without ever feeling like any lines are being forced. He plays all the parts of Clifford right, the arrogant jock, the superhero, he does it all great. Jennifer Connelly is amazing in her role as Jenny, playing a strong woman in natural form, not being over the top in her attempts to look independent, and overall just portraying the character well. Timothy Dalton, best known for his former work as James Bond (I suppose this review is somewhat relevant….), again proves his talent, with a flurry of sinister and grand over acting that the viewer can’t help but be mesmerized. Other good performances are to be found in the film, Paul Sorvino playing his natural role of a mob boss, Tiny Ron Taylor giving a haunting performance as the monstrous hit man Lothar, and various other minor actors sprinkled throughout. Every member of the cast has great chemistry with each other, resulting in great comedic moments and intense, dramatic face offs. This cast brings the characters to life in the most colorful of ways, and in many ways fights off the weak characterization.
This film has very impressive special effects for its time. The flying effects look amazing, and even though the green screen effect used on them is obvious, it does not detract from the effects overall satisfying appearance. The sets look absolutely fantastic, looking like a photo of the 1940’s jumping right out on screen. The perfection of the era’s aesthetic is to be expected: 20 years later, the director of this film, Joe Johnston, would direct the fantastic period piece comic book film, Captain America: The First Avenger. The film’s score is also great, the always wonderful James Horner taking the helm of the music and giving the film a score worthy of the greatest action/adventure films. Also, the makeup done on the character Lothar is amazing, making a character that could only exist in the world of comics mix perfectly with the cast of this film. Lots of care seemed to have been taken with this film’s visuals and effects, and though not making up for its flaws, makes it all the more worth watching.
Overall, The Rocketeer is a mostly solid film. It definitely suffers a bit in the character department, and for an adventure film it sure does stay in the same place for a while, but these flaws don’t make the film bad by any means. The acting, effects, and writing is fantastic, and definitely makes this film worth finding on DVD. Adventure lovers, by all means, get your hands on this movie. And for those looking for something seasonal….I don’t know, It looks like it takes place during fall. Work with that.
The Rocketeer is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Final Rank: B
+Great performances by all actors, excellent effects, well written story and dialogue, mostly enjoyable characters, has the feel of an old adventure film
-Some ideas go underdeveloped, many characters go unexplored, far too few action scenes, some segments seem to drag
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