In 1938, henchmen Lenny (Tommy J. Huff) and Wilmer (Max Grodenchik), who work for gangster Eddie Valentine (Paul Sorvino), are being pursued by FBI agents Fitch (Ed Lauter) and Wooly (James Handy) after they stole a prototype Jetpack from billionaire inventor Howard Hughes (Terry O’Quinn). Lenny is killed in a shoot-out. Wilmer hides the jetpack in the cockpit of a derelict biplane at an airfield before being seriously injured in a crash with a plane piloted by stunt pilot Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell). Valentine is working for Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton), who posing as an actor, is really working for the Nazis.
Cliff finds the jetpack. Along with his friend and mentor, A “Peevy” Peabody (Alan Arkin), Cliff tests out the jetpack to see if it works. Cliff tells his girlfriend, Jenny Blake (Jennifer Connelly), about the jetpack. Jenny is an actress who happens to have a bit part in Sinclair’s latest movie. Sinclair overhears Cliff and Jenny’s conversation. Sinclair decides to woo Jenny to try to find out where the rocket is hidden. Cliff ends up using the jetpack to save the life of his friend, Malcolm (Eddie Jones) when his plane becomes incapacitated during an air show. Now everyone is aware of the jetpack, and the papers report it.
Sinclair sends his minion, Lothar (Tiny Ron Taylor), to retrieve the rocket. The FBI shows up as well. Cliff and Peevy manage to escape from both and are on the run. Sinclair kidnaps Jenny to use her as bait to lure out Cliff. He has Valentine and his gang on hand in case Cliff proves to be difficult. With criminals, FBI agents and Nazis after him, Cliff knows that in order to try to save Jenny, the Rocketeer needs to make another appearance.
“The Rocketeer” AKA “The Adventures of the Rocketeer” was released in 1991 and was directed by Joe Johnston. It is a superhero science fiction action film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was based on the comic book character created by Dave Stevens. An animated series of the character was done in 2019 that premiered on the Disney Junior and Disney channels. Other films were planned, but because of the poor showing at the box office, nothing ever materialized. Since then, it has garnered a nice little cult following as well as earning some new fans along the way.
The film does take a while to get to the meat of the action, but when it does it’s pretty much nonstop. It’s actually a fun and nostalgically styled film and is reminiscent of the old-time serials from the 30’s and 40’s. The film even takes place in that era. With Alan Arkin looking very much like Geppetto and Tiny Ron Taylor outfitted as Rondo Hatton it’s a lot of fun to watch. Even Timothy Dalton’s character looks a lot like Eroll Flynn.
The Rondo mask that Tiny Ron Taylor wears in the film was designed by Rick Baker. Most of the visual effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic. It is a much-underrated film that deserves its cult.
For the interior shots of Neville’s estate, the filmmakers used the Ennis Estate in Los Angeles. The house was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Both the interior and the exterior of the house have been used in many films including “The House on Haunted Hill” 1959 and “Blade Runner” 1982.