“Sky Captain” soars through turbulence
Written and directed by Kerry Conran, “Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow” takes theatres by storm. With over $100 million for Conran’s first movie, a sum completely unheard of in Hollywood for first time directors, he puts together an all star cast with an incredible amount of CGI (computer generated images) and other special effects. Rated PG, this movie is geared towards children and the ‘old school’ sci-fi fans, although other adults will enjoy it as long as their willing suspension of disbelief is as large as the film’s skyscraper-sized robots.
The film stars Jude Law, Gwenyth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, and includes an appearance by Laurence Olivier. Jude Law is the Sky Captain, the airborne savior of New York City. He teams up with his ex-girlfriend, a reporter named Polly Perkins, played by Paltrow, in order to save the world from a sinister plot by Dr. Totenkopf, Olivier, and save their friend Dex (Ribisi) from his grasp. One must embrace the incredible when attending this film.
Set in 1939, the film heartily embraces the comic books and radio shows of that era. As in most comic books of that time period, “Sky Captain” includes no background information on the hero himself and instead, relies on the action to carry the story. It is a roller-coaster ride, jumping from one escapade to the next in a whirlwind of action. The visual effects are dazzling and extremely imaginative. The film itself underwent a special editing process to make the colors appear washed out, as if this movie were indeed made in 1939 and only recently uncovered.
“Sky Captain” is visually amazing to watch and has an innovative plot, but the dialogue and characterization are lacking. While it is an entertaining excursion through the unbelievable, there is simply no depth. However, as said earlier, the film is imaginative. True, it plays on the classic ideas of good versus evil, and has numerous movie clich?s, but it is not a Steven Segal film. It lies somewhere between “War of the Worlds” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” or more recently “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and the cartoon “Talespin.” Despite the numerous detracts I listed, and those few I didn’t, I would recommend this movie to anyone for it’s creativeness and stunning visual effects. As some would say, it’s a mixed bag, but overall it’s pretty good stuff.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 15 2004. Filed under Other.
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