Neat idea, peachy visuals, but there ain't much else to grip the imagination.
Comment
06/24/06
The Rocketeer (1991)
63
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:30
Rotten:18
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: An action-packed, if anachronistic, look back at pulp matinee serials, The Rocketeer may ring hollow with viewers expecting more than simple fun and gee-whiz special effects.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: In the tense atmosphere preceding World War II, millionaire Howard Hughes develops the invention of the century: a high-powered mini jet-pack. Nazi agents steal a prototype of the device, but lose... [More]
Starring: Bill Campbell, Alan Arkin, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Sorvino
Director: Joe Johnston
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Reviews for The Rocketeer
The Rocketeer may not be perfect, but it's an excellent example of how to adapt a comic book to the screen.
02/13/01
Top CriticBased on a comic book, deliciously corny but not campy, "The Rocketeer" is the movie Dick Tracy and Batman wanted to be.
01/01/00
Top CriticYou have to dial down, to return to an age of innocence when an eccentric inventor and a clear-eyed hero could take on the bad guys with a new gizmo they'd dreamed up overnight.
01/01/00
Top Critic.. has its exciting and amusing moments, but on the whole is a disappointment.
01/01/00
It's a humble little item, actually, easily digested and easily forgotten.
01/01/00
Top CriticThis is a wonderful tying together of historic detail in the story of a man who becomes a super-hero with the help of a rocket pack.
01/01/00
Plenty of energy has gone into making this a bustling, visually clever film with an amusing late-1930's stylishness, but the purpose of such effort is uncertain.
08/30/04
Top Criticlives and breathes with the spirit of the old adventure pulp comics or Saturday matinee serials. Its charms will probably be lost on most of this jaded generation
03/19/03
The clever use of historical figures like Howard Hughes and W.C. Fields is really the film's only highlight.
02/06/03
Okay special effects, but the story tends to drag and ultimately the most interesting thing in it is sumptuous Jennifer Connelly's cleavage.
01/01/00
The Rocketeer is a throwback to when movie heroes weren’t burdened by irony or existential angst.
08/08/05
The problem with the film is that it is nothing more than an exercise in whimsical style. Nothing in the narrative is compelling. In place of a story we have antics.
01/01/00
It's a great comic-book style adventure with good humor, thrills and charm, and it's entertaining.
11/07/02
The whole thing is good-natured enough, but increasingly mechanical.
04/18/07
Top CriticA film with its heart in the right place and it is a lot of fun.
03/23/03
Such an idealized time never really existed, to be sure, but once in a while it's nice to think it might have.
01/01/00
The film is awash in all kinds of surprises that are too juicy to reveal.
05/12/01
Top CriticReaches for the skies but runs out of fuel.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe result is a movie that looks nice and moves along efficiently, but offers little reason for anyone to watch.
04/18/07
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