The Rocketeer
Joe Johnston (who went on to make Captain America: The First Avenger) directed this 1991 fantasy adventure set in and around Hollywood just before the start of World War II. When a dashing but sorta down-on-his-luck stunt pilot (Bill Campbell) discovers a jet pack—designed by Howard Hughes (Terry O’Quinn) but stolen by mobsters (led by Paul Sorvino) on behalf of a swashbuckling movie star (Timothy Dalton) who’s in cahoots with Nazis (hey, it could happen!)—he uses it to rescue another pilot in distress during an air show.
His newfound celebrity as “the Rocketeer” makes him a target for all the baddies who’re dying to get their mitts on that jet pack; things get even more complicated when his sweetheart (Jennifer Connelly, flawless as always), an aspiring actress who’s starting to question whether or not their relationship has much of a future, gets pulled into the action. Fortunately, there’s nothing like a fiery showdown aboard a Nazi blimp to get a splintering couple back together in record time. Aww. (Disney+)
