Posted: 12/14/2011

The Rocketeer: 20th Anniversary Edition

by Amber Burnham

Now available on Blu-ray from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

Today we see a new comic book adaption coming to the screen every summer; back in 1991 this was not as common. One of the first to come along was The Rocketeer, released by Disney. It is a movie based on the comic book of the same name by Dave Stevens. The Rocketeer is a story of pilot, Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell), who finds a top secret rocket jet pack in one of his planes. The jet pack was left there by some gangsters who had stolen it from the government. Although the gangsters intended to later reclaim the jet pack for their employer, Cliff learns to fly it in the meantime. This lands him in the middle of an intrigue around the rocket which is being sought by the FBI, an actor who is also a secret Nazi spy, and the aviation mogul Howard Hughes.

The Rocketeer is a movie that did not get off its feet for a long time. The idea was brought to various studios a few years before it was actually made but the studios were not into the idea of a comic book adaptation. Finally Disney picked up the rights to make the movie but then it was put on the shelf for various reasons. Disney wanted to change The Rocketeer, particularly making it more for children in order to create a toy line based on it. Some of the changes were kept, such as changing Cliff’s girlfriend from a nude model named Betty (inspired by Betty Page) to an aspiring actor named Jenny; thus creating a more family friendly character. One character that did not change is the antagonist, Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton), who was based on Errol Flynn. The Errol Flynn that the character was based on was from an unauthorized biography, which stated that Flynn was a closeted Nazi spy. The biography was refuted in the late 1980’s but by this time the inspiration for the Sinclair character remained intact in the script.

Set in the late thirties, the movie portrays the times in an interesting way. While much of the movie and its characters are wholesome, partly due to Disney wanting this to be made specifically for children, there is also a sense of the rising Nazi influence coming from Germany. It is set up early in the movie that Cliff is against Hitler and what he is doing in Europe. This is shown through a small scene where Cliff is responding to a news reel while on a date with his girlfriend, Jenny (Jennifer Connelly). Although the movie seems to forget about the Nazi aspect for a while, which doesn’t assist the sense of doom when it does show back up again, the fact remains that Cliff’s feelings about Hitler and the Nazi’s have been established. We are then able believe that his actions are justified during the climactic battle, in which he is pitted up against the Nazi spy who has captured his girlfriend.

The Rocketeer is a movie I grew up watching all the time. While watching the Blu-ray, I realized this was the first time I had viewed the movie in its original aspect ratio and void of commercials. The high definition restoration is beautiful. The movie has the look of a comic book based in the 1930’s. It is as if the movie is the art and look of a comic book drawing brought to life. With elaborate movie sets, night clubs, mom and pop restaurants and run down airfields, it feels as if you are looking through a mirror into the past of this country. The feel of the movie benefits from the great visuals, by creating a realistic yet separate time period in which the story takes place. Along with the great visuals, the music is a wonderful benefit to the movie as well. The soundtrack was given great praise when the movie was first released, and it still holds up as being one of the best aspects of the move twenty years later.

Although for an action movie, The Rocketeer, has many scenes where the characters are just talking to each other instead of getting to the action. But overall, when the action is happening, it is good. The first time Cliff puts on the jet pack in order to save his friend who is flying a dying plane (which was adapted shot for shot from the same scene in the comic book), is both exciting and funny. Watching Cliff try to save his friend who faints after seeing Cliff fly directly into the bottom of the plane with his head, as well as try to learn how to fly the jet pack creates a fun introduction to the action of the movie. From here the action gets more intense, with parts ending with characters finding their own ends. The Rocketeer is a fun superhero movie which, while not perfect, can hold its own against many of the current superhero movies showing today. This would be a great addition to any collection, especially for those who grew up watching it on broadcast television like me.

One of the saddest aspects of the movie is the lack of special features. I would have loved to see some kind of introspection of the making of The Rocketeer. It was a movie that was so close to not being made, and the story of how it came about is an interesting one and would have been a great addition to the 20th anniversary edition.

Amber Burnham has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Kendall College. She is also a regular panelist on Kichicast, the all-girl, Chicago-based podcast devoted to anime, manga, and Japanese culture. You can listen to Kichicast at kichigi.com.

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