:
Jude Law,
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Angelina Jolie,
more...
:
Kerry Conran
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Paramount
: Science Fiction , Costume Drama/Period Piece, Adventure, Mad Science, Mad Science
: 106 min.
: English, French
: English, Spanish
see additional details...
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Directed by Kerry Conran, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow revolves around the mysterious disappearance of some of the world's most revered scientists. When an investigation is launched, Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), reporter for the prestigious Chronicle, and Sky Captain (Jude Law), resident flying ace, are at the forefront of the case. Though the mission's perks include traveling around the world, the stout-hearted duo are nonetheless risking their lives with each passing moment, as the culprit is none other than the nefarious Dr. Totenkopf, and his goal, from what they can gather, is to destroying the earth in its entirety. Luckily, Sky Captain and Polly are not alone -- Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie), the commander of an all-female amphibious squadron, and Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), an unparalleled technical genius, have joined them in hopes of saving the planet before it's too late. Laurence Olivier appears posthumously as Dr. Totenkopf, via old film-clips "recycled" (or CG-altered) to fit the dialogue and scenes at hand. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looks both like no other film before it and like many, many films its director grew up loving. Sean Axmaker asks Kerry Conran what films he watched again while making Sky Captain and how Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie coped with a computer-generated alternative universe. And whose idea was it to cast Laurence Olivier? Full article >>
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| What was never a comic
by chadstep
November 22, 2007 - 8:57 AM PST
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| One of the best epic sci-fi visual films of today--it is what South Park is to animation, an oversized, underspoken film based on the serialized drama films of the 30's and 40's. It's all in there: Metropolis, Flash Gordon, the Island of Dr. Moreau, Sgt. Fury, Orsen Wells, accompanied with a radio-drama background. Can you believe Sir Lawrence Olivier appeared in this? Only the somewhat lame acting of Gwyneth Paltrow puts the wet blanket on this stunningly visual and aural experience for a one-time only, first film director who put his heart and soul into this monument of technology and stylized masterpiece. |
| I don't get it.
by jdfalk
June 5, 2005 - 10:39 PM PDT
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1 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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I can't understand how this movie was popular. Is it just the effects? Certainly couldn't have been the acting, which was uninspired at best (though I suspect that we can blame poor directing for a lot of that.) It obviously isn't the plot, and probably not the overall setting. Yet to my eyes, even the effects were lame -- it's as if somebody looked at the cover art from a bunch of science-fiction magazines from the forties, but didn't bother reading the stories.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, scattered here and there throughout the movie you may notice the kind of joke intended for people who still think the one about the VCR blinking 12:00 is a laff riot.
There are movies that are, usually in retrospect, so bad they're good. This will never be one of those movies. It's just simply bad. |
| Nicely entertaining
by mason
May 16, 2005 - 9:55 AM PDT
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4 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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As a slight rebuttal to the previous review, I'll come to the defense of this movie (to some extent). Bad parts first: Sky Captain will never win any awards for originality in terms of story. It's purely and simply based on 1940s serials such as Flash Gordon. To its credit, the movie doesn't try to hide the fact: quite the opposite, it glories in its influences. Visually, it appropriates wonderfully, in little hints here and there. Second bad part: Gwyneth Paltrow. Granted, I'm not a fan, but while Jude Law manages to be a reasonable hero, Paltrow just isn't acting. I'm not sure what she's doing. The characters are certainly stereotypes, but again, in the spirit of the 40s serials. Law plays his part, Ribisi is (as usual) wonderful, and Angelina Jolie gets into her part and has fun. Paltrow's just taking up space most of the time.
But really, it's visually where this movie earns its keep, and boy does it. The bonus materials are fun, since the story of how the movie came to be is pretty fascinating. A big thank you to the studio for putting Conran's original 6-minute short on the disc!
From the brilliant opening sequence (always wanted to see a zeppelin docking with the Empire State Building) to the marvelous robots and flying ships -- and the awe-inspiring floating platform -- this is visually unlike any other movie out there. I can only hope that directors like George Lucas and Spielberg watch carefully and take notes. This is what can be done with today's technology: rather than using it to replace sets, with creativity it can be used to make something even better. It's just gorgeous *and* imaginative.
So yes, the story's just adequate, and the acting as well. The visuals make it very much worth watching, and the rest of it remains entertaining enough.
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.62)
188 Votes
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