[8]

This is an underrated comic book adaptation with slick, period production design and top-notch action choreography from director Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, October Sky).  There’s a gee-whiz ebullience about The Rocketeer that I find utterly charming.  Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly (future Oscar-winner for A Beautiful Mind) are attractive leads, even if their archetypal characters are somewhat shallow. Timothy Dalton’s villainous performance recalls every handlebar-mustached baddy that ever strapped a girl to rail road tracks.  Johnston, who’s sort of a protege of Spielberg and Lucas, is a master at storyboarding action sequences.  The air show rescue and the climactic zeppelin scene are great examples of this talent.  James Horner provides a rousing score and Marilyn Vance provides a beautiful cornucopia of period costumes. With Alan Arkin and Paul Sorvino.