The Rocketeer (1991)

The Rocketeer (1991) Full Recap

An air racer named Cliff arrives at an airfield to test run the new plane that has just been made for him by a mechanic named Peevy. As he gets there, Peevy gives Cliff some instructions and mentions that he has to be extremely careful when flying the plane. Just before Cliff enters the cockpit, he puts a chewing gum on the plane, and Peevy complains about this. Cliff then mentions that he always does that for luck so that he won't crash.

Peevy eventually forgets about it and tells Cliff to treat the plane nicely because it might lead them to the air racing national championships. Cliff says he'll do that, and he moves the plane toward a runway. He then taps a photo of his girlfriend, Jenny, before he takes off. The plane does quite well in the air, and Cliff flies it away from the airfield so he can feel more comfortable with it.

Coincidentally, two FBI agents, Fitch and Wooly, happen to be chasing two criminals, Lenny and Wilmer, who have just stolen something important. They eventually start shooting at each other, and as Cliff flies toward them, Lenny shoots his plane. Cliff doesn't understand what's going on, but the plane suddenly develops a fault and is unable to fly smoothly anymore. While he struggles to take it back to the airfield, the FBI agents continue shooting at the criminals until their car gets stuck between two trees.

Wilmer manages to get to the airfield, and as he checks on Lenny, he sees that his partner is dead. He looks shocked by this but realizes that he has to escape before the FBI agents find him. Almost immediately, he looks around the hangar and finds an engine lying on the table. After he hides it in a briefcase, he heads out with it and gets into his car again.

Interestingly, the FBI agents have already gotten to the airfield, and Cliff is also about to land the plane. As it descends toward the airfield, Peevy and his fellow workers realize that something is wrong with the plane. Just as the plane heads for Wilmer's car, Wilmer quickly jumps out of it. After the plane hits the car, it loses one of its wheels and ends up stopping on the runway.

Wilmer's car then hits a gas truck and goes up in flames. Almost immediately, Peevy and the other workers help Cliff get out of the plane, and he seems pissed that all their hard work has gone to waste. After Wilmer is arrested, Peevy and Cliff blame Wooly and Fitch for chasing a car to the airfield and causing their plane to get destroyed. The agents refuse to take the blame for this, and as Fitch insults them, Cliff gets pissed and punches him.

After Fitch retaliates, the men are quickly separated before the fight escalates. Fitch and Wooly then check up on Wilmer to ask where he kept the item he stole. Wilmer appears to be badly injured, but he refuses to tell the agents anything useful. Suddenly, someone calls Wooly and Fitch to check out an engine that got destroyed in the explosion.

Since it looks like what Wilmer and Lenny stole, Wooly and Fitch decide to call an aviation tycoon named Hughes to give him an update. After Hughes hears that his invention has gotten destroyed, he tells the army generals in his office about it, and one of them mentions that it's better lost than in the wrong hands. As the other general asks how soon Hughes can rebuild it, he looks surprised and says that he's not rebuilding it again. The Generals don't like his answer, but Hughes says he's not rebuilding something that can be turned into a weapon.

He adds that he doesn't work for the Government, and he only cooperates at his discretion. He also mentions that two of his men died during the testing phase, and many more would've died if it hadn’t been destroyed. Before the Generals can say anything else, Hughes says he's sorry for ever dreaming about such an invention. As he throws it into the fireplace and watches it burn, the Generals ask what they should tell the president.

Hughes then mentions that they simply have to tell him that the dream is over. Back at the airfield, a businessman named Bigelow gives Peevy and Cliff a bill for the gas truck that got destroyed in the crash. Peevy and Cliff try to make him understand that it's not their fault, but Bigelow mentions that they're responsible for how the plane lands. As Peevy and Cliff complain about not having enough money to pay the bill, Bigelow suggests that they come to his upcoming air show to perform a clown act.

Peevy doesn't like this, but Cliff thinks it might be a good way to make some money. Bigelow then mentions that they either have to perform the clown act or see him in court. After he leaves, Peevy complains about the mess they're in, but Cliff suggests testing an old plane to see if it can work. As he gets into the cockpit, he sees a duffel bag and brings it outside for Peevy to see.

After they open it up, they see that the bag contains a prototype jetpack. The men don't seem to know what it is, and Cliff asks if it's a bomb, but Peevy says it's too complicated to be one. As they keep admiring it, Cliff accidentally hits a button, and the jetpack flies around and destroys a part of the workshop. It eventually gets stuck as it hits a wall, and Cliff manages to turn it off.

Peevy looks confused as to what they're dealing with, but as Cliff straps it on, he realizes that it's a jetpack. Elsewhere, a mob boss named Eddie takes his men to meet a movie star named Sinclair. Eddie then complains about the mission Sinclair sent him on because Lenny is now dead, and Wilmer is in a hospital surrounded by cops. Sinclair doesn't seem bothered by this, but Eddie asks why the FBI is interested in what his boys stole.

Sinclair refuses to talk about it, and he just scolds Eddie for not getting his men to do the job well. Eddie says he's not doing anything else unless he's told what they stole, and Sinclair mentions that it's a rocket. Eddie seems confused by this, but Sinclair asks for an update on the item. Eddie says that Wilmer knows where it is, but they can't get to him at the hospital.

Sinclair then asks for Wilmer's room number, and Eddie jokingly asks if he's just going to walk past the cops to see Wilmer. Sinclair doesn't find this funny, and he tells Eddie to get the job done immediately. After Eddie leaves, Sinclair calls someone named Lothar and says that he has another job for him. Elsewhere, Peevy and Cliff strap the jetpack to a statue and chain it to a stake to see how far it can go.

Surprisingly, the jetpack causes the stake to get loose, and it flies the statue away into the sky. Peevy and Cliff are shocked by this, but the jetpack eventually returns to the field and crashes. Cliff seems amazed by how the jetpack works, and he asks Peevy if he'd pay to see a flying man. Peevy tells him not to think about it, but Cliff says they'll just borrow the jetpack to make some money.

Peevy says he doesn't want to keep something that the cops are already after, but Cliff still tries to convince him to change his mind. Peevy seems worried that the jetpack is dangerous, but Cliff tells him to fix it. Peevy still has doubts about this, but he agrees to do it. Shortly after, Cliff goes to meet Jenny at her house.

Jenny looks happy to see him, and as they leave for their date, she tells Cliff that she thinks she got a role at her audition earlier that day. Cliff asks if it's a big role, but Jenny says she just has to read one line. She adds that she thinks she'll get the spot because the director commended her performance. Cliff seems happy about this, and Jenny asks about his first trip with the new plane.

Cliff says it went well, but that the landing had a few bumps. Following this, Cliff and Jenny head to a cinema to watch a movie. After they're done, they head to a restaurant at the airfield to get something to eat. While they're eating, Jenny doesn't seem to enjoy being at the restaurant, and she suggests going to another place for their next date.

Cliff says they can't afford the big restaurants or clubs that Jenny likes, but she tells him that they have to go to one of them after he makes it to the nationals. One of the men in the restaurant, Malcolm, hears this and asks how Cliff is going to get to the Nationals with his wrecked plane. Jenny looks shocked by this, but Cliff says he didn't tell her the truth because he didn't want to ruin her night. Jenny doesn't seem happy about this, and she eventually leaves the restaurant.

Cliff looks disappointed by this, but the owner of the restaurant tells him to run after Jenny. As Cliff heads outside, he sees that Jenny has already entered a bus. This makes him sad, and Malcolm says sorry for telling Jenny what happened, but Cliff says it’s nothing to worry about. Elsewhere, Lothar sneaks into Wilmer's room at the hospital and wakes him up to ask where the rocket is.

Wilmer initially refuses to say anything, but as Lothar threatens to hurt him, he says that he stashed it in the cockpit of a plane at the airfield. After this, Lothar kills Wilmer and manages to escape before anyone sees him. Meanwhile, Cliff goes to Peevy's house to see if he has made any progress on fixing the jetpack. Peevy then asks about Cliff's date, and he complains that it didn't end well.

Peevy asks what the problem is, and Cliff says he doesn't really understand Jenny because she's always talking about movie stars and clubs. Peevy says he's sure Jenny only cares about Cliff, and that he has to make sure he doesn’t ruin the relationship. Cliff eventually heads to the room, and Peevy continues working on the jetpack. The next morning, while Peevy is still asleep, Cliff looks at the table and sees the helmet Peevy made for him.

He doesn't seem to like the helmet, but he doesn't complain about it. Meanwhile, Sinclair arrives on set and plays a role in which he's fighting with a sword. Unfortunately, Jenny has already lost her role to the producer's niece, and she complains about this to her friend, who is also on set. After a while, Cliff sneaks into the building, and as he looks for Jenny, he accidentally knocks down a fake wall that falls on Sinclair.

Everyone is shocked by this, but Cliff says he's looking for Jenny. She looks quite embarrassed about what happened, but she still goes to meet him. After Sinclair stands up, he complains about what happened and tells the producer that he wants Jenny banned from the set. While Jenny is talking to Cliff, he says sorry for what happened and mentions that he only wanted to tell her about what he and Peevy discovered.

As he talks about the jetpack, Sinclair happens to be sitting behind the wall, and he hears this. Jenny cannot believe that Cliff ruined the set just to tell her something like that, and almost immediately, someone informs her that the producer wants her off the set. Jenny feels sad about this, and as she walks away to get her things, Cliff is barred from entering the set again. Cliff looks disappointed by this, and he decides to leave.

Sinclair then follows Cliff, but he eventually loses him. After this, Sinclair goes to meet Jenny to apologize for what the producer did. Jenny doesn’t know that Sinclair actually got the producer to fire her, and she says that she probably deserved it. Sinclair then says he'd like to see her perform as a lead actress, and Jenny seems interested in this.

Sinclair also notices that she’s happy, and he asks if Jenny wouldn't mind going on a date with him so they can talk about the role. Jenny immediately accepts the offer, and Sinclair tells her to meet him at a popular club later that night. Meanwhile, Bigelow complains to Peevy that Cliff is late for his performance at the air show. Peevy says he's sure that Cliff will be around soon, but Bigelow mentions that if he's not there in a few minutes, he’ll get fired.

Malcolm hears this and feels sorry for Cliff, but he also wonders what he can do to help. Interestingly, Eddie and his men are already at the air show after Sinclair told them that the rocket is in one of the hangars. One of Eddie's men checks Cliff's hangar but only finds a picture of Jenny in an old plane. Eddie then tells his men to look for her because she might be able to help them find the person who took the rocket.

Shortly after, Cliff arrives just as his old plane takes off into the sky. As he goes to confront Bigelow for putting someone else in his plane, the businessman realizes that Malcolm is the one inside it. He looks shocked by this and tries to find a way to bring down the plane without hurting anyone. Cliff then asks why Malcolm is flying the plane even though he hasn't been in one for many years.

Peevy says he was probably trying to save Cliff's job, and Cliff asks where the jetpack is. After Peevy tells him where it is, Cliff just runs toward the hangar. Peevy looks shocked by this, and he runs after Cliff, who has now strapped the jetpack to himself. Peevy says he can't use it yet because the jetpack might still be dangerous, but Cliff mentions that he has to do something.

Since he won't leave the jetpack, Peevy tells him how to control it. He also puts Cliff's chewing gum on the jetpack and wishes him good luck. After this, Cliff flies into the sky and saves Malcolm, much to everyone's surprise. As he then flies away from the airfield, Eddie and his men chase him with their cars.

Peevy also enters his truck to follow Cliff so that he won't hurt himself. He eventually takes a quicker route and sees Cliff just as he lands inside a river. As Peevy goes to help him, Cliff says he likes the jetpack. Before they leave, Eddie and his men close in on them, and Cliff uses the jetpack to push Peevy's truck away from the scene.

Eddie is shocked by this, and he looks disappointed that Cliff got away. Shortly after, Bigelow pretends that the flying man was all part of the show, and the reporters at the airfield enter his office to ask what the person's name is. Some of the reporters suggest a few boring names, but Bigelow calls him the Rocketeer. This gets published in newspapers around the town, and the Rocketeer quickly becomes a flying sensation.

When Hughes hears about this, he scolds Wooly and Fitch and says that he hopes the jetpack doesn't get into the wrong hands. Shortly after, Wooly and Fitch head to Bigelow's office to ask about the Rocketeer. Unfortunately, Bigelow happens to have been killed, but the FBI agents realize that he wrote Peevy's address on a sheet of paper before he died. Meanwhile, Lothar breaks into Peevy's house to ask for the rocket, but Peevy just keeps throwing things at him.

Coincidentally, Cliff arrives home right on time, but Lothar also attacks him. As Lothar keeps asking for the jetpack, Cliff says he's in the wrong house. Suddenly, Wooly and Fitch arrive at the house with some other agents. As they shout for Cliff and Peevy to come outside, Lothar shoots at them, but they don't see him.

Unfortunately, the FBI agents think Cliff and Peevy are the ones shooting, and they immediately return fire. Cliff and Peevy then sneak out through the back with the jetpack. As they get to the restaurant at the airfield, Peevy suggests calling the FBI so they can return the jetpack, but Cliff thinks the agents will see them as criminals because of what happened at the house. Just then, Malcolm and the owner of the restaurant inform them that Bigelow has been found dead in his office.

Cliff looks shocked by this, and he says he'll call the FBI. Before he makes the call, Eddie's men enter the restaurant to ask if anyone knows Cliff. Interestingly, they don't know what Cliff looks like, and everyone at the restaurant denies knowing him. The thugs don’t believe this, but before they can hurt anyone, one of them sees Jenny's number on a board inside the restaurant.

He then calls Jenny's number, but her friend answers the phone and mentions that Jenny is already at a club with Sinclair. The thug looks shocked because he thought Sinclair was on their side, and he tells one of his colleagues that Jenny is at the popular club in the town. After two of them leave, Cliff and Peevy take down the other thugs who are still in the restaurant. Following this, Cliff picks up the jetpack and says that he's going to save Jenny.

Peevy thinks it's best if they return the jetpack to the FBI, but Cliff says he can't let anything happen to Jenny. Peevy then agrees to let him take it as long as he'll return it when Jenny is safe. Before Cliff leaves, Peevy notices that a part of the jetpack is leaking, but he just uses Cliff's chewing gum to cover it. Shortly after, Cliff gets to the club and hides the jetpack in the laundry room.

He then changes into a waiter's uniform and heads into the main hall, only to see Jenny dancing with Sinclair. He looks disappointed by this, but he doesn't change his mind about helping her. When Sinclair and Jenny return to their table, she looks sad, and he asks if anything is wrong. Jenny says it's nothing, but Sinclair asks if it has anything to do with her boyfriend.

Jenny then mentions that she's just sad because she and Cliff have always talked about coming to the club for a dinner date. Sinclair asks what Cliff is like, and Jenny says that even though he can be thoughtless sometimes, he's also very caring. Almost immediately, Cliff heads to the table and puts a plate in front of Jenny, with a note telling her to meet him outside. Jenny is shocked by this, but Cliff quickly covers it with some soup.

After Cliff pours some wine on her dress, Sinclair gets pissed and sends him away. Jenny then excuses herself and goes outside to meet Cliff. Before she says much, Cliff tells her that there are some people coming after her because of the jetpack. He also mentions that he's the Rocketeer, but Jenny looks confused because she hasn't seen the news yet.

As he tells her to go home and make sure no one sees her, Jenny asks why she should believe him, and he says he'll lose his mind if anything happens to her. After this, Jenny tries to get a cab, but she misses the last one on the road. Meanwhile, Sinclair sees the note inside Jenny's soup, and as he tells Eddie's men to look for her, Cliff sees him and wonders why he's talking to the thugs. Cliff then enters the club to take the jetpack but bumps into Lothar.

Before he's caught, Cliff enters the laundry room and takes the jetpack. He then escapes with it and enters the main dining area. Unfortunately, he's unable to control the jetpack well, and he ends up scattering the club. Jenny sees what's happening and looks worried, so she decides to go back inside to help Cliff.

Almost immediately, Sinclair grabs a gun and tries to trap Cliff with a net. This nearly works, but as Lothar is about to shoot Cliff, Jenny hits something on his head, and he falls to the ground. Cliff then escapes through the roof, but before Jenny leaves, Sinclair grabs her and sedates her. Much later, Jenny wakes up inside Sinclair's bedroom and sees him touching a book on a shelf in his office.

When he gets to the bedroom, he tries to flirt with her, but as she lures him into the bathroom, she breaks a vase on his head to knock him out. She then goes to his office and sees that the shelf is a door leading to a secret room. As she enters the room, she sees a radio inside and uses it to ask for help. Interestingly, the person who responds speaks German, and Jenny looks confused.

As she wonders what's really happening, she sees a book with a Nazi symbol on it. Almost immediately, Sinclair enters the secret room and confirms that he's a Nazi spy. Jenny is shocked to hear this, but Sinclair tells Lothar to grab her. Elsewhere, Cliff finds a place to hide the jetpack before heading back to the restaurant at the airfield.

Interestingly, no one happens to be there, and Cliff gets a call from Eddie, who tells him that Jenny has been kidnapped. He adds that if Cliff wants to see her again, he has to bring the jetpack to a particular location. Cliff writes this down, but before he leaves, Wooly and Fitch enter the restaurant to arrest him. They then take him to Hughes’ office, and he sees Peevy telling Hughes how he fixed the jetpack to work well.

Peevy then tells Cliff to return the jetpack to Hughes so that they'll be free, but he says he can't tell them where it is. Hughes then introduces himself and shows Cliff a video of how the Nazis plan to use the prototype to create jetpacks that will be used to invade the United States. Cliff still says he can't give up the rocket yet because the bad guys have kidnapped Jenny. As he says that he can take on Eddie's men alone, Hughes mentions that Eddie was actually hired by an unidentified Nazi agent.

Cliff realizes that Sinclair is a spy, and he mentions that he saw the movie star talking to Eddie's men. Fitch doesn't believe this, and as everyone gets distracted, Cliff escapes. He then takes the jetpack to meet Sinclair and Eddie at the planned location. Sinclair tells Cliff to give up the jetpack in return for Jenny, but he refuses to do this unless his girlfriend is released first.

Sinclair then grabs Jenny and threatens to kill her if Cliff doesn't release the jetpack. Following this, Cliff asks Eddie what it's like to work for a Nazi. Eddie looks confused, but Cliff mentions that Sinclair is a Nazi. Eddie asks Sinclair what Cliff means, but the movie star tells him not to worry about it because he'll get paid well.

Eddie says he doesn't care about the money because he's loyal to his country. Sinclair refuses to say anything, and Eddie turns his men against the movie star. Sinclair just laughs and calls on the Nazi soldiers hiding in the bushes to come outside. As the soldiers show up with their guns, Eddie realizes that his men are outnumbered, and he looks disappointed by this.

Just then, a Nazi airship appears in the sky, but before Sinclair leaves, the FBI arrives. Sinclair immediately grabs Jenny and tells Lothar to kill Cliff. Luckily, Cliff still has the jetpack, and he uses it to escape. Lothar then joins Sinclair and Jenny inside the ship. They meet a Nazi General inside there, and as he asks Sinclair for the rocket, the movie star says he doesn't have it.

He adds that since they have Jenny, the rocket will come to them. As the Nazi ship leaves, Wooly and Fitch initially look worried, but they eventually see Cliff going after them. When Cliff lands on the ship, Sinclair notices that he's around, and he sends Lothar to take the jetpack from him. Lothar then heads out and straps himself to the ship while he tries to attack Cliff.

The Rocketeer (1991) Ending Explained

Interestingly, Cliff manages to overpower him, and as Lothar dangles around the ship, he ends up breaking a window. The ship starts losing balance, and the captain mentions that one person needs to leave. Almost immediately, Sinclair kills the Nazi General, and Cliff enters the ship. Sinclair then threatens to kill Jenny, but Cliff agrees to release the jetpack.

As he does this, he slightly removes the gum blocking the leak. Sinclair then tells the captain to hold Jenny while he takes the rocket. Almost immediately, Jenny manages to knock the captain off the ship, and Cliff punches Sinclair. As they start fighting, Sinclair gets the upper hand and nearly throws Cliff off the ship, but Jenny grabs a gun and tries to shoot the Nazi spy.

Unfortunately, she misses her target, and this causes a fire on the ship. Sinclair then straps on the jetpack and says that he'll miss Hollywood. Interestingly, the jetpack still happens to be leaking, and as he flies out of the ship, it explodes and kills him. Cliff and Jenny then head to the roof of the ship, but Lothar shows up to attack them.

Before he can do anything, the ship goes up in flames, and the fire gradually moves toward them. As they run toward the edge, Lothar remembers that he strapped himself to the ship, and he gets burned alive. Luckily, Peevy is already at the scene with his plane, and he saves Cliff and Jenny before anything happens to them. Much later, Jenny and Cliff sit with Peevy at a restaurant to talk about everything that happened.

Suddenly, Hughes arrives with a new plane, and they head out to see him. As Cliff admires the plane, Hughes says he's sure it will be ready to compete at the nationals. Hughes then asks Cliff what flying with the jetpack felt like, and he says that it's the closest he'll ever get to heaven. Hughes smiles when he hears this, and as he's about to leave, he throws a pack of gum at Cliff and tells him not to ride the new plane without it.

Cliff is shocked by this, and he realizes that Hughes made the plane for him. He looks quite happy about this, and Jenny and Peevy also congratulate him on getting a new plane. After a prototype jetpack gets stolen, Cliff mysteriously finds it in his hangar and thinks about using it to make some money. Unfortunately, he soon becomes a target for some FBI agents, who want to retrieve the jetpack before Sinclair gets his hands on it.

Jenny eventually gets kidnapped in the process, and Cliff fights to get her back while also killing the Nazi spy. Even though Cliff could’ve used the jetpack for his own selfish interests, he became a hero and didn’t mind giving it up to get Jenny back. His story shows that true courage sometimes involves putting others above yourself and doing the right thing.