31 Days of Scans - Day 25

Today's for one's favorite adaptation into another media, which is a category with lots of choices. I loved both the recent Captain America movies. There's the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon. Batman: The Animated Series, Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited. Heck, there's even a few video games I'd consider. Batman Returns was my #4 Game Gear game, I really liked the Spider-Man game on the N64, and there's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Tempting as all those are, I'm going with The Rocketeer. This may be a bit of a cheat. I saw the film in theaters when it first came out, but didn't read any of the comics until around 2009. I didn't even know it was based on a comic book until I found comic blogs. Still, it was an adaptation, whether I knew it back then or not, so as Blog Boss and Arbiter, I'll allow it.

Why do I love this movie? I know as a kid, the idea of finding a rocket pack. Cliff is already a pilot, he gets to fly fast and do dangerous stunts for a living, and then he finds something even better. He can fly faster, without a plane, than anyone else can fly with one. He gets drawn into a plot involving mobsters, Nazis, Howard Hughes, a fascist Errol Flynn, and a goon that got lost on his way to Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy movie.

It isn't a completely faithful adaptation. They use Hughes instead of Doc Savage, and Lothar isn't a circus strongman hell bent on revenge on Cliff. Bill Campbell plays Cliff as somewhat more affably clueless, rather than the extremely jealous hothead he is in the comics. Jennifer Connelly's Jenny likewise isn't nearly as fiery as Betty. But Campbell still gives Cliff that air of insecurity that drives him to take risks to prove he's worthy of Jenny, and Connelly has Betty's stubborn streak and wits, which help her see through Neville Sinclair's attempts to turn on the charm.

And, of course, Timothy Dalton going over the top as Sinclair. He seems like he's having the time of his life with his delivery. How he gets offended when Cliff suggests Sinclair doesn't do his own stunts. His response when Jenny learns that truth. 'Spy? Saboteur? Fascist. All of the above.' He gets more dramatic with each word he utters. He's really good at the melodramatic villain*.

The special effects don't look so great now, but for the era, they're solid. Sometimes Cliff zipping around with the rocket looks bad, but sometimes it looks very good, and that's what I tend to remember more. There's just enough humor, from Cliff and Peevy arguing (and their first test run of the rocket), and regularly interspersed gunfights, fistfights, and car chases. Lothar seems like an odd fit in the movie, but he works somehow. Maybe because Sinclair is such a sneaky, yet dramatic villain, the film benefits from a more direct, but understated henchman. Or maybe having a relentless, seemingly unstoppable, enemy is just a good thing to have in a film.

The Rocketeer is one of those films I can watch pretty much anytime (a list that also includes Hot Fuzz and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), which makes it a worthy selection.

* If they're going to do another Fantastic Four film in the future, get someone like that for Dr. Doom (if they insist on using Doom again)