The Rocketeer started out in the 1980s in the back pages of other comics and has since been with various comic companies (Pacific Comics, Eclipse, and Dark Horse). The film follows the basic story of the earlier comics: Cliff Secord is a pilot struggling to make ends meet; he finds a rocket pack, and his life changes forever. Of course the rocket pack was stolen from the government by the mob, and both are intent on getting it back.

While a bit over the top, and requiring a little bit suspension of disbelief, The Rocketeer is pure high adventure. Imagine Indiana Jones, but a bit Disney-fied. It's still got the mob, lounge singers, Nazis, tommy guns, pretty girls - everything a 1938 adventure movie needs. While there's a lot of fighting and brawling, it was obviously made with the family crowd in mind.

The film has a notable cast, including Timothy Dalton, Jennifer Connelly (Hulk), Alan Arkin (The Return of Captain Invincible), and John Polito (The Crow).

The Rocketeer is heroic, it's bigger than life, it's everything a comic book movie should be.

			See it if you like high adventure. Don't see it if you like your films more "real". But then, why are you reading reviews of comic book films?

© 2006 Jim Manchester