The Rocketeer

"An Ordinary Man Forced to Become An Extraordinary Hero."

1991 1h 48m EN

😐

6.5

MID

🍅

73%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 1,095🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes●58Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 64,748

AdventureScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.

“An Ordinary Man Forced to Become An Extraordinary Hero.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Billy Campbell
Cliff Secord
Jennifer Connelly
Jenny Blake
Alan Arkin
A. 'Peevy' Peabody
Timothy Dalton
Neville Sinclair
Paul Sorvino
Eddie Valentine
Terry O'Quinn
Howard Hughes
Ed Lauter
Fitch
Jon Polito
Bigelow

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joe Johnston
Writers: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Danny Bilson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

35 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Rocketeer Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joe Johnston, shot by Hiro Narita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Arthur Schmidt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connelly and Alan Arkin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An Ordinary Man Forced to Become An Extraordinary Hero.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0102803 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joe Johnston directs. Hiro Narita behind the camera. James Horner scores. Arthur Schmidt cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

135 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "The Rocketeer Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Joe Johnston, shot by Hiro Narita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Arthur Schmidt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connelly and Alan Arkin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "An Ordinary Man Forced to Become An Extraordinary Hero.".
8IMDB entry: tt0102803 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "nazi", "superhero", "airplane wreck", "based on comic".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hiro Narita
Original score: James Horner
Editing: Arthur Schmidt
Production design: James D. Bissell
Costume design: Marilyn Vance
Makeup / hair: Susan A. Cabral
VFX supervisor: Ken Ralston
Sound: David E. Campbell
Stunt coordinator: M. James Arnett
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $42,000,000
Box office: $46,704,056
Return: 111% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Rocketeer (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 58/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 64,748 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

2 wins & 6 nominations total

Part of

The Rocketeer Collection

A collection of films in the universe of Disney's The Rocketeer.

The Rocketeer
1991 · this one

Also by

Joe Johnston

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-25
★ 8/10
Rocketeer is directed by Joe Johnston and co-written by Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and William Dear. It is based on Dave Stevens' comic book The Rocketeer. It stars Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton and Paul Sorvino. Music is scored by James Horner and cinematography by Hiro Narita. It took eight years to get to the screen, with many rewrites, changes in personal, changes in setting and etc, the only thing consistent was Disney's inconsistency. Once out the film received generally positive reviews but posted only a small profit, in the wake of a Tim Burton inspired reinvention of the Super Hero genre, Rocketeer fell away into cultdom, sequels planned were shelved and its reputation remains to this day one of being a misfire. Unfair say I! Rocketeer is a lovingly crafted adventure film, nodding towards the serials of the 1930s, it's awash with period Hollywood delights, Art Deco imagery, has a damsel in distress, square jawed heroics, Nazi villains, wonderful effects and a blunderbuss Zeppelin finale. Backed by beautiful smooth tone photography and an evocative heart stirring music score, it's a family friendly blockbuster that ticks all the requisite boxes. The quality of the action sequences still hold up today, and Johnston, who wanted the job big time, directs with a knowing grasp of the setting, and crucially he never once loses a grip on tone and pacing. There's no self parody here, no deep Fruedian dissection of the main character, just a honest to goodness good against bad axis, with a romantic cause deftly wafted over proceedings. The role of Cliff Secord (Rocketeer) proved hard to cast, where Vincent D'Onofrio turned it down and "name" actors such as Dennis Quaid, Emilio Estevez, Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton auditioned for the part. Paxton, it's believed, was very close to getting it as well. Disney wanted an A list man, Johnny Depp and Kevin Costner were mooted, but Johnston had a feel for unknown Billy Campbell and managed to convince nervous Disney heads that he was perfect. Much of the scorn that has flown towards Rocketeer has landed at Campbell's door, again, this is unfair. It's hard to tell if one of those A list actors could have made the character work better, for it helps in this instance to not have a familiar face propelling the adventure. There's an innocence, an awkwardness to Campbell's portrayal that just sits right for a guy stumbling upon a rocket pack and finding himself submerged in a chase and harry battle against bad. He also has the looks, a handsome dude who creates a homespun based chemistry with the sensuous Connelly. It's Dalton's movie, though, he's having a devil of a time as the chief villain. Modeled on Errol Flynn and the spurious notion that he was once a Nazi spy, Dalton has the looks, the gusto, the moustache twirling shiftiness and a voice perfect for such material. A roll call of great character actors fill out the support slots, with Terry O'Quinn, Paul Sorvino and Ed Lauter particularly striking the right chords. A smashing piece of escapism, no pretensions or ideas above its station. The willingness to tap into the basic premise of a comic book actioner and entertain in grand Hollywood terms, to be applauded. And I do, and I do love it so. 8/10
r96sk2020-09-22
★ 8/10
Very much enjoyable, this. <em>'The Rocketeer'</em> exceeded my expectations in truth, I wasn't expecting much given the opening few minutes. However, thankfully, it ends up producing an entertaining 108 minutes. Cool superhero, great score and a likeable cast list. The premise is properly bonkers, especially towards the end, but they make it work and deserve credit for doing so. There are numerous recognisable faces onscreen, all of the main talent give good performances. Billy Campbell plays the lead role, Cliff. I've (relatively) recently become aware of him via television's <em>'Cardinal'</em> - which is outstanding btw, check it out if you can - and loved him in that, he's also very good in this. Jennifer Connelly (Jenny) and Alan Arkin (Peabody) are also involved, as are Paul Sorvino (Eddie) and Timothy Dalton (Neville). I enjoyed Dalton, he portrays his role very well. The pacing is solid, thanks also to the noteworthy action and James Horner's score. All in all, this is a film I would definitely recommend; it's certainly nearer the top than the bottom of Disney's live-action offerings up until 1991.
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
Billy Campbell was actually extremely believable in this and, honestly, I don't think that they could have found anyone better to play the evil Nazi Erroll Flynn styled actor than James Bond's Timothy Dalton. But, also, I always kind of feel that Campbell has gotten the short end of the acting stick. In all honesty, it's really a horribly fin superhero movie, right down to that amazing retro 1930s serial feel. The entire thing was great and warranted far more fan fare than it received.