The Rocketeer (1991) & Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

I take a look at both of these well crafted superhero movies that share common threads as well as offer a PSA on the importance of checking your milk.

Podcast may contain minimal profanity.

Music by Moodmode on Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/users/moodmode-33139253/
https://www.youtube.com/@moodmode - Check out my Youtube channel.
https://www.tiktok.com/@mood.mode - TikTok

Transcript

Sean 0:02

Welcome back to Scenes from the Screen, where we talk about all types of films and TV. Obscure, forgotten, prestigious, rotten, from must-see to are you kidding me? Big screen and small, we cover it all. Who knows? You might discover a new gem or be reintroduced to an old favorite. My name is Sean, and I'll be your host. Before we begin today, I'd like to offer up a public service announcement of the importance of looking inside of a milk carton before extracting said milk from carton. I'm not talking about drinking it right from the carton. It means maybe pouring it over some cereal, which I did this morning. I opened the oat milk... there was a little bit left... smelled it just to make sure it was okay. Checked the date-- nowhere near expired. Let me say that right off the bat. Everything was fine, so I'm like, yeah, use it up. Put some frosted flakes into a bowl, tossed on some fresh blueberries my wife told me were from her sister's bush. I wasn't sure how to take that, but hey, they were tasty and delightful. Cereal was good, milk tasted fine. When I was done, I went to throw away the carton, happened to look inside, and there's a little darkness around the edge of the spout. So when I peered into the actual carton, unfortunately, I found spots of mold. So I'm really, really hoping I make it through this episode without maybe passing out or, you know, anything else. Crossing my fingers, so here we go. Well, today I'm flying solo again. I gave Hollie the week off, and it being summer, all other potential guests are busy. But I'm free, so this is what you get, you lucky listeners. I chose the two movies because, as a slightly beyond middle-aged man, you damn well know I was into comics as a kid. That said, I never read The Rocketeer and was not a Captain America fan at all. But the movies are connected, and I'll get to that soon. I'm not sure why I never read The Rocketeer, because I know it would have been something I would have enjoyed. Maybe since it was an independent comic, it wasn't readily available, or it's possible I just overlooked it altogether. Who knows? Anyway, The Rocketeer was created by Dave Stevens in the early 80s as kind of a lark and a side job, but apparently he found that he had fun doing it, so it eventually became a regular gig. That sounds amazing if true, but you know that he also had to deal with some comic companies and others that probably negated that feeling of enjoyment. Hopefully not, but definitely a possibility. His creation was parlayed into the 1991 Touchstone Pictures adaptation starring Billy Campbell as Cliff Secord, a pilot about to take his plane to a national competition, along with his mechanic Peevy, played by Alan Arkin. While taking the plane out for a run, gangsters on the ground below are fleeing the feds trying to steal a jetpack that they took from Howard Hughes. The feds pursue and one of the members is killed. The other goes to the hospital, but not before hiding the jet pack in the hangar. Secord's plane is damaged by the gunfire and he has to land the plane. Upon returning to the hangar, Secord discovers the jet pack, and he and Peevy experiment with it a little bit to see how it works. So that Secord can conceal his identity as well as steer while wearing the pack, Peevy designs and crafts a sleek streamlined helmet. When one of Secord's friends hops in a plane to save Secord's job at a local air show, Secord dons the pack and helmet, takes to the sky to save him from crashing, and is eventually christened the Rocketeer. Now both the Feds and Mobsters are out to find the pack and determine who's wearing it. The feds want to return it to Howard Hughes, while the gangsters are paid by Neville Sinclair, played by Timothy Dalton, to retrieve it unknowingly as part of a Nazi scheme to create an army of flying soldiers. Sinclair also happens to be one of the biggest actors in Hollywood and is currently filming a movie with Seacord's girlfriend Jenny, played by one of my all-time crushes, Jennifer Connolly, eventually trying to manipulate her into locating the jetpack after overhearing Secord tell her about his discovery. The Rocketeer is a grand throwback in the vein of the old movie serials shown during the first half of the 20th century, as well as films like Raiders of the Lost Ark. I read some reviews complaining about the film's pacing and that it takes too long to get where it's going. I honestly didn't think that when I saw it in the theater, and after re-watching it, I don't think that now. In comparison to modern films, yes, it's not as briskly paced, but remember this is 1991 and the film was set in 1938, so I think it perfectly encapsulates the period while paced appropriately. Interestingly, the film's director, Joe Johnston, won an Academy Award for his visual effects work in 1982 for Raiders. As another fun fact, Johnston is credited for co-creating the design for Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back, as well as the Iron Giant from the 1999 film of the same name. The Rocketeer is also perfectly cast. Campbell more than ably fills the role of the earnest and slightly goofy Secord, and Connelly hits just the right notes to elevate Jenny as just more than a trophy girlfriend. The rest of the cast is rounded out by familiar faces like Terry O'Quinn from The Stepfather and Lost, Margo Martindale from The Americans and Justified, as well as people whose names you may not recognize, but would by face like John Polito, Ed Lauder, Paul Sorvino, and many others, including an early appearance by Melora Harden, who played Jan on the Office. Dalton, just coming off his turn in two Bond films, The Living Daylights and License to Kill, does a fresh turn as a villain and really showed his range after coming off as somewhat stiff in those Bond movies. Not to say he was bad by any stretch of the imagination. I actually always thought he was a good Bond and that the films themselves failed to take advantage of his talent. On a final casting note, and this is really weird trivia that I wasn't aware of until I happened upon it, the actor who portrays Lothar, Sinclair's gargantuan, craggly-faced henchman, reminiscent of Rondo Hatton, is played by Tiny Ron Taylor, who appeared as the also gargantuan and always the top of his head, just off-camera detective, Al in the series Police Squad and the Naked Gun films. Unfortunately, the Rocketeer came and went with little fanfare, earning a respectable amount at the box office, but not enough to warrant a sequel. Today it's largely and unjustifiably forgotten, even after recently celebrating its 35th anniversary, and able to be found on Disney Plus to watch any time. I highly recommend The Rocketeer, and it definitely is a rewatchable film, but only once in a while. I loved seeing it again, and it was almost as captivating an experience as when I originally saw at the theater, but I'm not in any hurry to catch it again anytime soon. As I mentioned earlier, I was never a big fan of Captain America. I'd pick up a few issues here and there, particularly if there was an interesting storyline or if another character I liked made an appearance in his book. I could tolerate him as a member of the Avengers only because he wasn't the main focus. So imagine how excited I was when I heard that they were making another Captain America movie. I say another because there were two 1979 made-for-TV movies and a 1990 theatrical release preceding it that all missed the mark completely. Just excruciating to watch. Also imagine how surprised I was that an actual great movie was made this time around. Chris Evans nails it as Steve Rogers, a scrawny kid from New York consistently rejected for the armed forces due to his overall stature and a ton of health issues that, once injected with the experimental Super Soldier Serum developed by German scientist Dr. Erskine, played by Stanley Tucci, becomes a taller, muscular superhuman version of his former self. Rogers is initially relegated to the sidelines and first hits the USO touring circuit as a brightly uniformed Captain America, becoming a bit of a joke until he rescues POWs, including his old New York pal Bucky Barnes, from behind enemy lines. The government, realizing the massive potential in Rogers, is given a nearly indestructible shield made of vibranium to fight Johann Schmidt, aka Captain America's nemesis, the Red Skull, played menacingly by Hugo Weaving, and the rest of the Nazis and Hydra, the nefarious organization also bent on world domination. Captain America: The First Avenger works because it's about Steve Rogers the person and not Captain America the symbol. I think the reason I never liked Captain America the character was because, in the end, he's boring, like Superman. The actual hero always has to be a symbol for all that's good with America, and oftentimes in the past, either flirting with being propaganda, or in the very early incarnations of each character, downright embracing it. The hero was never allowed to be flawed in those days, but the man behind the symbol, whether it be Steve Rogers or Clark Kent, or even Cliff Secord from The Rocketeer, is infinitely more interesting, and that's who we spend time with in this film version. It's hard to picture anyone else other than Evans in the role as he perfectly imbues Rogers with a mixture of humility and earnest bravado, making him believable as a person rather than an indestructible superhero. And the rest of the cast, including Tucci, Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Haley Atwell, Dominic Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, and a host of others, are all outstanding, grounding their individual characters in reality rather than just collecting a paycheck in an over-the-top comic book movie. Sure, Weaving chews some scenery in it as the Red Skull, but that's again part of the character of his once human persona, Johann Schmidt. It's noted that the Super Serum brings the best out in good people, but elevates the worst in the bad ones, and Evans and Weaving portray their respective roles perfectly. What really brings everything together neatly is not only the sharp comic book-like script, which made the characters appealing and accessible to a mass audience, even haters like me, but the direction of Joe Johnston, who also helmed, let me look back at my notes...oh yeah, The Rocketeer. That's the connection I mentioned earlier, by the way. From what I understand, he was tapped for this because of that film, and rightly so. He once again teleports you to that specific time period, this one set in 1942, whereas The Rocketeer was in 1938, and perfectly captures the mood of that era. Well, but I can only imagine about that time from various movies, documentaries, and such. Captain America: The First Avenger is not my favorite Marvel film--I plan on going into those at some point--but it's pretty high up there, infinitely rewatchable and just as entertaining as it is heartfelt. It's also celebrating an anniversary, its 15th, and honestly pairs extremely well as a double feature with The Rocketeer. Both teach that if a one-of-a-kind weapon falls into the wrong hands, it could result in chaos or the end of the world as we know it. Both feature an everyday man with a moral compass as the main character-- Steve Rogers is more self-assured and proactive, while Secord is more passive, but just as effective being an average Joe thrust into an extraordinary situation. And most importantly, both have the heroes kicking Nazi ass, which I can actually remember being a thing. You know, being patriotic and not rolling over to fascism. Ah, the good old days. So if you have some time and Disney Plus is a streaming service you have access to, a viewing of The Rocketeer and Captain America: The First Avenger might be a great way to spend a sultry summer night. Toss in a pizza, fire up the AC, and let Joe Johnston take you back to those thrilling whiz-bang days of yesteryear when heroes swooped in to save the day from the bad guys. As an addendum and a bit of a confession, I actually recorded this entire podcast virtually extemporaneously...the first time. After listening to it, I immediately realized I came off as a stammering, yammering fool with little direction. Sometimes I chalk it up to my chemo brain--and for a little bit more on that, you want to go back to episode one. Other times it's attributed to just being tongue-tied and twisted, just an earthbound misfit. So I rewrote and recorded it, and hopefully this is a more well-polished and slightly extemporaneous version. That's the planner in me; it doesn't have to be perfect, just better. Finally, much to the delight (or chagrin depending on your feelings about me) I made it through the episode without the mold turning me into some background creature in The Last of Us. That's not to say it's not going to happen, but I'm good for the moment. Depending on everyone's schedule, I may have a guest next time, or you might just have to suffer through my ramblings again: as an either somewhat normal me-- let's face it, I'm not really normal by any stretch of the imagination-- or as a mold mutant. Either way, it could be interesting. That wraps up another episode, so make sure you hit that subscribe button and download new episodes every Saturday on your favorite podcast platform. For Scenes From the Screen, I'm Sean, and thanks for listening.