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SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW *** out of *****
Genres
2004
Written and directed by Kerry Conran Cast Gwyneth Paltrow .... Polly Perkins Jude Law .... Joe 'Sky Captain' Sullivan Giovanni Ribisi .... Dex Dearborn Michael Gambon .... Editor Paley Bai Ling .... Mysterious Woman Omid Djalili .... Kaji Laurence Olivier .... Dr. Totenkopf Angelina Jolie .... Capt. Francesca 'Franky' Cook
Pop quiz: what does this movie have in common with Immortel (ad vitam), Casshern, and Sin City? Answer: they were all almost entirely shot in front of a blue screen. That's right, just about every background you'll see in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow were all generated in post-production. It's quite a feat when you see the film, all the backgrounds and effects took the better part of two years to complete. But the filming process was just a fraction of that at just 26 days. I suppose the ultimate benefit from shooting on a blue screen stage is the time and money saved on actual principal photography. But you will inevitably have to sacrifice something, and in Sky Captain's case it is unfortunately the performances.
While not entirely terrible, the performances do tend to lack a certain believability. This is by no means the fault of the actors, because there is no shortage of A-list performers here, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Angelina Jolie, just to name a few. It's more a case of acting to a blue screen. I'm sure it's very hard to act to something that's not there, but without the blue screens the film's most amazing moments would not exist. So, there comes a certain trade off when you deal with films that heavily rely on this technology. Well, that and the fact that this is writer/director Kerry Conran's first foray into feature filmmaking. And aside from the mostly wooden acting Conran managed to create a very unique and rather entertaining film that is filled to the brim with cool looking robots, exciting aerial dog fights, and as much adventure as any Indiana Jones film will throw at you. There certainly is enough here to keep most people going.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow takes place in an alternate history (around 1939 or thereabouts) where certain technological advancements have paved the way for giant robots, lasers, holograms, and other traditional sci-fi staples that would not have actually existed in that time. Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), an intrepid New York City reporter, is covering a story regarding the sudden disappearance of some famous scientists when she receives a tip from one of the remaining scientists. In an attempt to crack the case she meets this man, only to find out that he is the last to be abducted by a madman named Dr. Totenkopf, when a sudden attack on the city takes place by giant robots and Sky Captain (Jude Law) is sent in to save the day.
With this new information at hand Polly is more that ever determined to locate Totenkopf and find the missing scientists. Her ex-boyfriend Joe a.k.a. Sky Captain joins the search when the robots attack his installation and kidnapp his friend Dex (Giovanni Ribisi). But just before Dex is taken away he manages to track a location of the robot's signal and leaves a clue for Sky Captain, and from that clue Polly and Sky Captain embark on a journey to find the scientists and his friend. However, their adventures that take them to the edge of the world also brings them to the realisation that Totenkopf is a complete psychopath that has plans to destroy the world and restart it with the aim of creating a perfect utopia, and it's up to Polly and Sky Captain, with the help of Captain Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie) and her crew or airborne fighting men, to come to the to the rescue and save the day from tyranny.
There are many cool aspects about this film, the one that stands out the most is the visual style. Taking a decidedly pulpy 1930s art-deco path adds to the film's b-movie serial influences, as seen in every frame. The soft almost-yellow and subdued colour palate lends a certain magazine gloss to the film that works hand-in-hand with its look. So the film is pretty to look at, but that's not all folks, it's also real fun to watch. If you like adventure films then you'll like this. Within the film's run-time you'll get a healthy dose of amphibious attack planes, giant flying robots, fights with masked and mysterious figures, more flying robots, and a dangerous mastermind played by none other than the late, great, Lawrence Olivier (a performance that was culled from archival footage). While the acting is of the George Lucas-esque wooden variety there is no shortage of action, adventure, and excitement, which was what Conran was aiming for.
Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here.
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