Here's Bill the Butcher's thoughts, a reviewer on my website. I've seen it too at an advanced screening and loved it. Can't wait to see it again.
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A Little Indiana Jones, A Little Star Wars, and a Unique World of Yesteryear
By Bill the Butcher
I went into Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with very low expectations tonight. It looked very cheesy from the previews, including the washed out look. Boy was I wrong. I always like the experience of going into a film not knowing what to expect, and coming out pleasantly surprised. In the case of Sky Captain, first time writer-director Kerry Conran has created a unique vision that is a little Indiana Jones, a little Star Wars, and a distinctive futuristic world of yesteryear.
Sky Captain opens in a WWII era New York City as reporter Polly Perkins (Paltrow) meets with a doctor who tells her he was part of an elite group of seven scientists working for a mysterious Dr. Totenkopf. The other six have been murdered, and he fears he is next. Soon thereafter, an invasion of flying robots begins destroying the city. A signal is sent out, and Joe “Sky Captain” Sullivan is called to save the day. In his WWII fighter plane, he flies into the city, and in a sequence reminiscent of the opening of The Empire Strikes Back, takes down one of the robots.
From this point on, you’re either totally submersed in this futuristic, campy sci-fi world of the 40’s, a take on old b-movie serials just like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, or you’re going to miss the entire point of the film and probably hate it. I for one, was the former. The cheesy campiness, played straight by the actors, along with the stunning visuals and cliffhanger set ups won me over rather quickly.
Kerry Conran created new technology to get the look he wanted for Sky Captain. The actors mainly acted in front of a blue-screen, with not much else, save for a few props. Conran’s goal “was to make a live-action film, but to use conventions of traditional animation.” He used some archival footage of New York City, and dead actor Laurence Olivier.
The look is quite distinct, about 10 times the washed out look of Minority Report. But it really works for establishing the time period, and for trying to look like a 40’s film. There was one scene though, when Polly and Joe first meet each other, it keeps going in and out of focus. The bright washed out look, along with the loss of focus, was really hard on my eyes. It continues to the next scene where they enter the large warehouse with all the robots.
The other small critique is the score is forgettable. The studio really needs to hire John Williams to compose a decent score. Even if his fee is like $1 million, it would be worth it. Williams wrote some of the best scores in film history: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, E. T., Schindler’s List, and Jaws. A film like Sky Captain, that has the potential to be huge and spawn sequels, needs a decent score.
Other than those two small points, Sky Captain is utterly spectacular. The action is exciting, the characters memorable—especially Angelina Jolie’s Capt. Franky Cook—and the comedy is funny. The chemistry between Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow is classic.
Jude Law proves here he can be a lead actor, and an action hero. While he made the transition from supporting roles to lead actor in Cold Mountain, he didn’t quite pull off some of the real emotional scenes in that film. In Sky Captain, he has made the transition into action star with his quick biting comments, and assured confidence. Paltrow, as always, just lights up the screen, and plays a good counterpart to our action hero, with her sometimes ditsy, jealous ex-lover role.
While the robots look cheesy, it works for the film. Even the ray gun that Dex Dearborn (Ribisi) designed adds to the campiness. Sky Captain is like a souped up Mars Attacks, with a story. Conran manages to capture the feel of yesteryear, of the late 30's, early 40's. There is even an homage at the end to The Wizard of Oz, which plays on the screen when Polly meets the doctor in the beginning.
The only special effect that doesn’t work is the fire. It just looks so fake when the flying machines are blowing up Joe’s base. But in a film like this, I can forgive the fake fire. As in other films, like Attack of the Clones, it’s very difficult to make good CGI fire.
Conran has created movie magic here; Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is what we go to the movies for. This is big budget Hollywood at it’s best because it takes one man’s vision, and puts it up on the screen. It’s like the 1970’s again, and a young Spielberg is just starting out. Conran designed and put on the screen his visionary world, with a cliffhanger ridden story, that is sure to entertain.
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Fidelio’s Film Central:
http://www.geocities.com/fidelio1st/film.htm
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