C | A 1930's stunt pilot finds a top secret jetpack. Directed by Joe Johnston Starring Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, and Timothy Dalton Review by Jon Kissel |
Two late-century blockbuster filmmaking trends clash in Joe Johnston’s The Rocketeer. Combining the WWII-era preview serials that inspired Indiana Jones with comic book stories like Batman and Dick Tracy, The Rocketeer is uniquely situated between genres. As a mid-tier action director, i.e. the kind of guy who directs the third Jurassic Park movie after Spielberg’s established the first two, Johnston might’ve made his career on The Rocketeer. With the marketing power of Disney behind it, things should’ve worked out better than they did, as The Rocketeer goes in for a modest landing and the would-be franchise only has its one entry. Johnston’s film presents this outcome as neither justified nor tragic, allowing for the possibility of future entertaining Nazi-punching sequels but not so accomplished or rousing that their loss is a blow to cinema. The Rocketeer is a fun throwback to American can-do unity and earnest adventure filmmaking, but it’s fine that lead Billy Campbell didn’t become a household name.
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