The Rocketeer: 20th Anniversary Edition
Blu-Ray Reviews | Dec 15th, 2011
Starring: Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Terry O’Quinn, Ed Lauter, Paul Sorvino, Eddie Jones, James Handy
Written By: Danny Bilson, Paul Demeo
Directed By: Joe Johnston
Studio: Disney / Buena Vista
Buy On Amazon.com
The Rocketeer is 20 years old and Disney / Buena Vista has released the movie on Blu-Ray for the first time! It’s been awhile since last seeing The Rocketeer but it still holds up for being an entertaining action/adventure movie.
Basically the movie is about Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell), a pre-WWII stunt pilot who accidentally discovers a jet pack that can make him fly. Cliff and his mechanic friend Peevy (Alan Arkin) fine tune the rocket pack to make it fly better. The jetpack was stolen by Howard Hughes and the FBI are trying to find out what happened to it. Cliff has to use the rocket untested with a faceless helmet, when their pilot friend gets stuck in a malfunction plane. After that. The news & the people dub him “The Rocketeer.” In the meantime, a famous Hollywood actor Neville Sinclair is actually a Nazi secret agent and trying to get ahold of the rocket. He also has a thing for Cliff’s aspiring actress girlfriend Jenny (Jennifer Connelly), but that’s just because he knows she knows about the rocket.
Seeing The Rocketeer again was a lot of fun. It’s not the best movie in the world but it’s certainly enjoyable. Billy Campbell does his best to play the handsome lead who gets the hot girl. By the way, what ever happened to him? He’s in a lot of stuff it seems but perhaps not to the caliber of what he could have been? At times, the movie felt like an Indiana Jones movie but that’s okay, as long as it’s not trying to be the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Which is impossible since that movie came out like 17 years after this. I forgot how stunningly beautiful Jennifer Connelly was back then (and still is). I remember having the biggest crush on her when she starred in Career Opportunities. The scenes where she’s out to dinner with Timothy Dalton’s character were my favorite for obvious reasons. Other notable actors in the movie is Terry O’Quinn, a.k.a. John Locke, as Howard Hughes. I forgot he was in this movie! Besides Jennifer Connelly in that gown at the party scene, I also liked when Cliff was testing out the rocket, interrupting the date with Jenny & Sinclair, and the end with the stuff on top of the blimp!
The movie looks good on the high-definition format. Sadly there’s no extras on here, or ones worth mentioning at least. I would have liked to have seen an retrospective since the movie is 20 years old.
I think the Rocketeer is an underrated film by Joe Johnston. It’s got that retro, serial, action/adventure feel to it and is a bit similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark and other movies like that. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, now is your chance to see it in high-def 1080p!
Features:
Features Not Specified
Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color
Screen Resolution:
1080p
Audio:
ENGLISH: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles:
English, French
Bottom Line: The Rocketeer holds up well after 20 years
Running Time: 108 mins
Rating: PG
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
