The Rocketeer is a period superhero movie starring Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, and Terry O'Quinn.
It's 1938 in Los Angeles, and Cliff Secord (Campbell) is a handsome young pilot trying to make a career for himself. His girlfriend, Jenny (Connelly), is an aspiring actress, just hired to be an extra in the latest film starring Neville Sinclair (Dalton). As he's test-flying a new plane with modifications from his engineer buddy/father figure/housemate Peavy (Arkin), the plane gets shot up by gangsters running from the FBI. It crashes, the gangsters are captured, and the feds recover (they think) what they're looking for from the burning wreckage.
NOT SO! Turns out the gangsters stashed the gizmo, a jetpack enabling the wearer to fly, in the hanger where Secord and Peavy work. They take it and experiment with it, trying to figure out if they can make a little money before giving it back, before circumstances conspire to make Secord wear the damn thing and rescue his drunk pal Malcolm (Eddie Jones). Dubbed "the Rocketeer," he becomes a mysterious sensation...but Sinclair, who turns out to be a Nazi spy working with mobster Eddie Valentine (Sorvino) is hunting him down.
It's a superhero movie, and it hits all the notes we're familiar with - hero gets powers (kinda), hero uses powers for gratification, hero discovers he can use powers to be a hero, hero saves girl/kills bad guys. Since this is pre-MCU when everything was a franchise, we also get "hero loses powers". There are a few things that give Rocketeer some charm, though.
First, Secord is really no superhero. He's a skilled pilot and a swell guy, but he's got no fighting chops and the jet pack basically just lets him get around quickly and access airborne trouble. Sinclair mops the floor with him when they fight, and his biggest advantages aside from the jet pack are courage and heart (and Peavy). That's actually kind of refreshing, because it makes his heroism seem a little more focused and genuine.
Likewise, the supporting cast all get to decide where they come down. Sinclair is a spy and utterly devoted to the Fatherland, but when his massive henchman Lothar (Tiny Ron) dies, he actually spares him a thought and a moment. Eddie Valentine is a mobster and is quite willing to kill to make a point, but when Secord informs him of Sinclair's real loyalties he turns on him immediately ("I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American"). Peavy is a voice of reason and Secord actually listens to him, which is nice.
Oh, right, Jenny. She actually has stuff to do in the movie; she seduces Sinclair and gets the drop on him, and she backs up Cliff when he tells Valentine about Sinclair's goose-stepping tendencies. She has some agency, though no real arc in the movie, and her main conflict (that Cliff doesn't take her career seriously) isn't really resolved. But Connelly is charming as always, and she and Campbell have enough chemistry to feel like a couple.
Overall, it's a fun and self-contained superhero movie, and it's got enough fun moments to merit rewatching.
My Grade: B
Rewatch Value: Medium-high
Next up: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
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