THE ROCKETEER
A film review by Chuck Dowling
Copyright 1996 Chuck Dowling
(1991) ****1/2 - C:Alan Arkin, Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, Terry O'Quinn.
Parents who complain about the lack of quality family movies each year should all be slapped. Every year, Hollywood gives them one or two films with exactly what they ask for, and then they don't go! "The Rocketeer" is a perfect example. It's a great film for the whole family and yet it bombed at the box office.
The story takes place in the 1940's. Campbell stars as a pilot who stumbles across a single person jet pack built by Howard Hughes (O'Quinn). The government wants to get their hands on it to use it against the Nazis, and the Nazis want the jet pack to use against the world. Campbell's best friend Peevy (Arkin) constructs a helmet with a rudder on it and Campbell reluctantly tests the jet pack to save a friend in need at an air show. The papers, on hand for the show, all witness a flying man and name him The Rocketeer. Campbell's girlfriend (the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly) is later kidnapped by an Errol Flynn-type actor (Dalton) who happens to be a nazi spy and also wants the jet pack.
The film has a great cast, especially Alan Arkin, who has yet to give a bad performance on film. My only reason for not giving the film a perfect rating is because one of the thugs in the film is this big mutant thing which looks like a leftover from the cast of Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy". That's just too silly to overlook. "The Rocketeer" has a rousing musical score and overall, it's just a simple, fun, entertaining family movie.
Have A Question Or Comment? Email Me At chuckd21@southeast.net
-- Chuck Dowling Visit Chuck's Movie Reviews at http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/ Over 1,500 movies rated and/or reviewed! Movie news, box office reports, film related links, and reader's polls and reviews.
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