Sky Captain & the World Of Tomorrow
Lenscap.
Starring: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Bai Ling, Omid Djalili, Michael Gambon, Trevor Baxter, Laurence Olivier
Director: Kerry Conran
Screenwriter: Kerry Conran
Reviewed by Larry Stanley
I have been waiting for this film for almost a year. I first saw the trailers on it before the start of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and I went straight home and joined the Flying Legion (on the website that is). Then I began to wait; and waited longer for it too be released. And waited.
Then they pushed it back again. So I waited some more. I figured with all the waiting the film was going to stink.
 Then they started with the heavy promotion just a few weeks ago. And I started hearing from people about how it had tanked at some of the sneak previews. I heard how the film was nothing more then a two-hour cartoon.
I just about gave up.
God, I have to stop listening to people.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is one of those films that the viewer is either going to love or hate. There won’t be much room in the middle.
And I am proud to say that I will be in the “Love” camp.
This film is beautiful; the movie itself is fun, well made, well developed and comes straight from the heart of the writers and the director.
Kerry Conran has gone out of his way to give the viewer a trip back in time to a different world.
A world where Zeppelins travel the skis like Ocean liners do our waters. Where mad scientists plot to destroy cities and Joe Sullivan and The Flying Legion protect the world!
Made almost totally in front of a 'blue screen', Sky Captain marks the first step in a new generation of movie making. I have often said that with CGI, it was going to be possible to make movies someday without actors or a soundstage. This demonstrates a part of that. While there are some other films out that will be doing this same Computer Magic, they will have to struggle to compete with Sky Captain And the World of Tomorrow (I keep wanting to say that in a deep, booming, Gary Owens type voice).
It is the late 1930’s and the advances made in technology and science are stranger and more amazing then you can think of. And making use of the best of these is The Flying Legion and Sky Captain (Jude Law) who are the only thing standing between civilization and the army of mysterious giant robots New York City and around the world.
Polly Perkins (Paltrow) is Joe’s ex-girlfriend and a report for the New York Chronicle and she is investigating a series of kidnappings of scientists around the world. Her investigation and Joe’s come together as they search for the world’s newest enemy, Totenkopf.
Before we go on, I need to let the reading public know something. This is writer/director Kerry Conran's first motion picture. Yes, his first. And they gave him $70,000,000 to do this film. As a comparison, Catwoman done by Pitof cost $85,000,000 and was nowhere near this well made, or entertaining.
But the direction and original style of the film, with its mixture of computer background and characters along with flesh and blood characters is virtually flawless and looks like it should have been done by only a master of the art. Are we looking at the next Lucas? Spielberg? John Huston or DeMille?
While it is completely genre specific, it should reach across age barriers as well as gender lines and reach into that hard to control Science Fiction and fantasy section. And that will bring in the Comic book people as well.
It’s celebration of film styles of the 1930s takes the viewer on a thrill ride that meets and surpasses whatever you could have thought.
At first I noticed the CGI and thought it was pretty good. I hate CGI in most cases, but here it not only worked but it filled a void that would have been missing otherwise. It didn't take long for me to simply forget to notice it. Unlike in Pearl Harbor, when the battles were based on real events and looked faked, these were faked and looked real in many cases.
The feeling I was supposed to have gotten in Blair Witch I did get here, riding in the plane with Sky Captain (insert booming voice) and whipping through the streets of Manhattan. Inches about autos and zooming around buildings and I caught my breath more then once.
Now certainly someone could say that just being pretty isn’t enough to spend money one. One could say that. But then one would have to explain why they went to see Charlie’s Angels 2 as well. But we won’t worry about that.
While Sky Captain looks pretty, it is also loaded with enough extras to skin a possum. Where Catwoman created a city that looked like a bad Comic Book panel, Sky Captain (did it again) offers sights that are pretty, but also built on a storyline that makes you believe that Giant Robots really are smashing through New York.
The fighter planes fighting through the man-made caverns of the city, and flying over mountains and oceans are beautiful and realistic. And the undersea battle is one of the best segments of the year.
I even liked Angelina Jolie. If Tomb Raider had been half this good, I would have enjoyed it. Some.
Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow were excellent together. Their chemistry on screen worked quite well. I don’t know what they are like off-screen but their professionalism came together fine. Their bickering over who did what in their past and fighting with each other at every turn, but also their worry over the other one getting hurt showed a couple who were most obviously love. And the look on her face when Polly finally spots the planes reflection was beautiful to watch.
The movies lighter moments came from Paltrow’s many quips, insinuations and her looks at both Sky Captain (dang) and Frankie (Jolie). Also, Giovanni Ribisi tosses in a few good lines as well and comes across as the brilliant but almost geeky best friend and scientist who creates stuff after reading about it in Buck Rogers Comic Books.
See kids? Show your parents that Comics are actually educational and good for you.
Bai Ling plays the mysterious villain helping the Master Criminal Totenkopf with is plan. And the addition of Sir Laurence Olivier (back from the dead!) as the evil Totenkopf was brilliant.
Something else that was nice was seeing Paltrow as a strong woman for that day and age. Her inner strength shown throughout the film, and not having her screaming and crying at every turn was really well done.
Polly Perkins is Lois Lane.
I did have one problem with casting. Jude Law, playing someone with no fixed background but evidence leads one to believe the U.K. He was born in London. Gwyneth Paltrow, playing an American demonstrated by voice and mannerism, born in Los Angeles.
Angelina Jolie, playing an Officer in the Royal Air Force. British, stiff upper lip and all that. So British salt won't stick to her. Born in Los Angeles.
What? What is going on? Did something happen and all the British actresses die before filming? Wasn't it possible to find one actress from the U.K. to portray a citizen of the U.K.?
Will Sky Captain (Sheesh) be able to save the world? Will we all go up in a blaze? Will Totenkopf be able to vanquish the forces of good and freedom?
What do you think?
What it comes down to is a gorgeous, beautiful film that carries the torch of creativity another step up the entertainment ladder. The inventive and innovative style takes it’s cues from the Pulp magazines of the 1930’s, Comic Books, the idea that the future would be a better place, Roger Rabbit, and Max and David Fleischer. In fact, the flying robots are inspired by Max Fleischer's Superman cartoon Mechanical Monsters. It also pays allegiance to King Kong, Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz, Lost Horizon and New York World's Fair of 1939.
And I am sure that one of the headline from the Tokyo newspaper showed Godzilla.
This movie deserves a place along side Star Wars and Indiana Jones; next to King Kong and First Men on the Moon, and should get all the attention it merits.
I hope this is the first of many, many Sky Captain films.
But, does that spit curl remind anyone of any other famous flying hero?
| Rating: |
 (3 1/2 out of 4 stars) |
Larry Stanley is the editor and publisher of Penguin Comics and Movies, located at http://www.penguincomics.net and has done over 500 movie reviews in his career. He is also a contributing reviewer to Cultcuts magazine (http://www.cultcuts.net) and Columbia360 (http://www.columbia360.com/) as well the magazine Devine Exploitation.
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