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2011 has been a good year for director Joe Johnston. His summer blockbuster, .com/articles/11/NW1100280.php>Captain America: The First Avenger, turned out to be one of the better superhero movies in a summer loaded with them. Now comes Disney’s new Blu-ray re-release of his often-overlooked 1991 effort, The Rocketeer, a film that feels very much like a spiritual predecessor to his recent work and one of the best early entries in the modern superhero film genre.
Adapted from Dave Stevens’s 1982 comic book, The Rocketeer is a combination superhero story and homage to the adventure serials of the early 20th century. It’s 1938, and aspiring stunt pilot Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) is having a very bad day. His new plane has just been wrecked, his relationship with his girlfriend, Jenny (Jennifer Connelly), is rocky at best, and he and his mechanic partner, Peevey (Alan Arkin), are drowning in debt. Stumbling upon a prototype jet pack, Cliff finds himself targeted by the FBI, Nazi spies, local Mafiosos, and even corrupt Hollywood matinee idol Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton). The only chance he’s got is to strap on the experimental rocket and take flight as the Rocketeer.
I should confess straight away that The Rocketeer has been one of my favorite movies since I was 14 years old. Still, it’s remarkable to me how well it’s held up as a film these 20 years later. Part of that can be attributed to the period setting that allows it to escape feeling too much like a product of the late ‘80s / early ‘90s, but much of it is owed to its structure as a classic adventure story, populated by talented character actors playing enjoyable roles. As might be expected, the pre-CGI special effects feel a little clunky at times, but they’re never so glaring as to detract from the fun. As big-budget superheroes in the cinema have become more common (and of generally higher quality), it’s pretty clear that this was a movie a good decade or so ahead of its time.
A bigger contribution comes from a carefully balanced tone that clearly values charm over cynicism. The Rocketeer never tries to justify its superheroics with psychological traumas, dilute it with angsty hand-wringing, or contradict it with cheap parody. Though far from perfect, Cliff’s a genuine, square-jawed, well-intentioned good guy who’s going up against the bad guys for the sake of his loved ones. For me, at least, that goes a long way to reminding me why I like superheroes in the first place.
Given the striking similarities in setting and tone, it’s hard not to see The Rocketeer as an influence on Johnston’s work on Captain America, and I hope the latter film’s success helps give this one some long-deserved recognition. This 20th anniversary edition is a pretty bare bones affair, lacking any extra features besides the original trailer, but it’s well worth picking up on the strength of the film alone.
