The Rocketeer

Los Angeles, 1938. A young stunt pilot finds a secret rocket pack in his hangar. The FBI, the mob and Nazi Germany all want it. The source is Dave Stevens's comic. Joe Johnston directed. The best-known fight on the film was about the helmet. Disney chief Michael Eisner wanted a straight NASA-type helmet; Johnston threatened to quit to keep Stevens's original design, and after several rejected prototypes the studio gave way. Casting was contested too. Disney wanted Johnny Depp and considered other established names; Johnston convinced them Billy Campbell was right for the part. It opened on 21 June 1991 with 9.6 million dollars and finished at 46.6 million domestically against a 35 to 40 million budget. The planned trilogy died there. Disney's distribution president Dick Cook explained it simply: it is not a sequel and has no big-time stars. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 73 percent with an A minus CinemaScore. Roger Ebert praised its salute to the serials of the thirties through fifties. Stevens said he was happy with roughly 70 percent of the film. Who it is for: viewers who like old-fashioned adventure and heroes who punch Nazis. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a fast opening. As Leonard Maltin put it, it is talky and takes too long to get where it is going.