Rocketman

2019
1h 34m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A crew of dreamers work through trials and tribulations attempting to launch Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes in a homemade rocket on a mission to prove that the Earth is flat.A crew of dreamers work through trials and tribulations attempting to launch Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes in a homemade rocket on a mission to prove that the Earth is flat.A crew of dreamers work through trials and tribulations attempting to launch Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes in a homemade rocket on a mission to prove that the Earth is flat.

Directors
- Toby Brusseau
- Michael Linn
Writers
- Toby Brusseau
- Michael Linn
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

245

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Toby Brusseau
- Michael Linn
Writers
- Toby Brusseau
- Michael Linn
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
On February 22, 2020, Hughes died near Barstow, California, following the crash of a rocket he was piloting, built by Hughes and his collaborator Waldo Stakes. During launch, the rocket's parachute, which was designed for landing, appeared to deploy early and detach from the craft. A witness at the launch, freelance journalist Justin Chapman, said that the rocket appeared to rub against the launch apparatus, perhaps tearing the parachutes. The launch event was being filmed for the Science Channel television series Homemade Astronauts, in which Hughes was to star. Following Hughes' death, Darren Shuster, his public relations representative, stated: "We used flat Earth as a PR stunt... Flat Earth allowed us to get so much publicity that we kept going! I know he didn't believe in flat Earth and it was a schtick".

Quotes
'Mad' Mike Hughes: You guys there's no brake lights either cuz I didn't have time to hook up the ground to the trailer.

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

10/10

If you like American Movie, you should definitely watch this film

Rocketman bears a resemblance to American Movie in all the good ways. Both films follow a person that is eccentric and captivating with a somewhat tenuous grip on reality. This documentary is largely entertaining for its comedic value, although the cinematography over the desert is beautiful. One scene shows Mike talking about the fact that he's broken people's ribs, thrown people through plate glass windows and ends with him saying, "but I'm a nice guy." Mike is totally oblivious to the irony of what he's just said which makes for a hilarious scene. I highly recommend this film, you'll laugh, you'll be entertained, but you shouldn't watch this film expecting to be educated on flat earth beliefs. 99.9% of us know this guy is off his rocker, by the end of the movie I'm not sure he fully believes the earth is flat or if its a publicity stunt. This film doesn't justify or denigrate his views, but let's the subject do the talking and let's the audience come to their own conclusion which for most of us will be that this guy has a few loose screws. The final quality that makes this a great documentary is that it is riveting at times. This guy is basically strapping himself to a rocket that could act like a bomb if things aren't done correctly. I was biting my nails at times afraid I'd watch this guy die. In fact, if he dies at some point doing this stuff it wouldn't surprise me. He's eccentric, misguided and a daredevil which all make for a great documentary.