Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow
Written and Directed by: Kerry Conran
Starring: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi

Remember those old black and white sci-fi serials from the 30’s like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon? Hmmm… neither do I. And somehow I doubt first-time director Kerry Conran does either, but that hasn’t stopped him from recreating a highly stylized, visually stunning modern representation of what these fantastical adventures were like. Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow is the first movie shot completely with blue screen techniques; that is to say, the first movie where everything except the actors are digitally created. You may wonder how the latest computer graphics technology could possibly generate images similar to a 30’s sci-fi TV show, but by applying cutting edge filters to mimic the Technicolor process, the super cool retro look of the movie was achieved.

Seeing this movie on the big screen, it does take a little time for your eyes to adjust to the look. The soft lighting and grainy colours make it blurry and hard to focus on at first (a complaint many people had about Star Wars Episode II). I think this is another movie that will look better on DVD than on film because of its native digital format. The visuals do work great though, they are believable and consistent. Conran took the one thing that never looks real in CGI movies (human beings) and brought them into a CGI world, allowing him to place the actors literally anywhere his imagination could take them. The computer effects stand up well to close examination, as I found myself often wondering just how many props, doors and other objects were small exceptions to the otherwise strictly digital landscape. It’s hard to tell. A few of the backdrops do look a little too much like scenery out of Lord Of The Rings movies though, and they didn’t fit the tone of the movie.

The story of Sky Captain is not a complicated one, and is heavily influenced by the sci-fi serials it tries to emulate. The story takes place in New York City in 1939, with a news reporter named Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) chasing down a caper involving some disappearing scientists around the world. When the city is attacked by an army of giant robots, she meets up with her old flame Jack aka Sky Captain (Jude Law), a heroic vigilante pilot and his sidekick, technology whiz Dex (Giovanni Ribisi). Together they set off across the globe hot on the trail of an evil mastermind named Dr. Totenkopf.

Basically, take every adventure movie you’ve ever seen and mix them together and you’ve got Sky Captain – Indiana Jones, Star Wars, The Rocketeer, and the Wizard of Oz… you’ll find elements of all these movies here. Conran even included a scene in a movie theatre where The Wizard Of Oz is playing on the screen, probably to emphasize the fact that he isn’t stealing from these movies per se, but rather “borrowing” out of respect. The uber-nerds will also find plenty of hidden references to old sci-fi flicks like the Godzilla movies and King Kong if they look hard enough. The plot is pretty thin and the characters are two-dimensional, and I found this to be the only real problem with the film. Although it’s clear the formulaic story was intended as both a throwback and a tribute, I was hoping for something a little more original. With all the visual power behind Sky Captain, they could have created a whole new world and really run with it.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s character is annoying at first (although maybe it was the actress more than the character that bothered me), but in the end the chemistry between her and Jude Law grew to be entertaining. When they finally found a comfortable rhythm, the campy sense of humour began to shine through. Too often, however, the scenes seemed too rushed and the pace of the movie too fast for its own good. There was no time to build up emotion or suspense, so you could never really care about the characters or see them as anything more than cardboard cut-outs.

With Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, Kerry Conran has created a movie primarily for himself, finishing a personal project that he has wanted to do all his life. But when the thrill of the movie’s innovative visual effects has worn off, what’s left is a story and characters that are pretty disposable. Sky Captain is a lot of fun, and an impressive feat in its own right. However, I can’t see it being remembered years from now as a landmark film, more than likely it will be a small footnote in movie history. After all, the special effects may dazzle you, but in the end it’s the story and characters you remember most of all. — Sean