Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Directed by:
Kerry ConranScreenplay:
Kerry ConranCinematography:
Eric AdkinsComposer:
Edward ShearmurCast:
Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon, Bai Ling, Omid Djalili, Laurence Olivier (a.f.), Angelina Jolie, Mido Hamada, Mark Wells (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Gwyneth Paltrow stars as intrepid reporter Polly Perkins, who suspects a connection between the mysterious disappearance of many of the world's top scientists, and a recent attack on New York City by giant robots - and decides to investigate. She enlists the help of her former beau, heroic flying ace Joe 'Sky Captain' Sullivan (Jude Law). The two, helped by the dextrous Franky (Angelina Jolie) and technical whiz Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), uncover a plot by mad scientist Dr Totenkopf (Laurence Olivier in archive footage) to create a 'World of Tomorrow' - and destroy the world of today. A race against time begins as our heroes do all they can to save the planet before it is too late. (Paramount Pictures AU)
(more)Videos (2)
Reviews (12)
No matter how I look at Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, it always looks perfect. The actors. The visuals. The retro atmosphere. The funny script and funny dialogues. Ubiquitous fantasy. Shearmur's music. What we have before us is a much underrated gem that combines the adventures of a gentleman named Biggles with the fun of Star Wars and the imagination worthy of Karel Zeman with a nostalgic tear in the corner of the eye. Five and never otherwise.
()
A deliberate essence of stupidity. I can’t understand why anyone would want to make something like this and why anyone would want to watch it. As an attempt at naive retro sci-fi it’s successful, as a film for the 21st century viewer is an epic fail. Listening to most of the dialogues felt like slow, painful death; if the film was half an hour longer, I wouldn’t have been able to write this review.
()
While the plot is quite thin, and particularly the point fizzles out into nothingness, it's a visually remarkable film that references famous past movies and evokes the atmosphere of cinematic and literary classics of adventure stories. There's a bit of Jules Verne, a touch of Metropolis, and echoes of American sci-fi from the 1930s. Overall impression: 65%.
()
A generously produced fan’s homage to film adventures. It has so many quotes and visual ideas that a day later I’ve already forgotten what it is supposed to be about. I didn’t get bored, for sure, and I admired the boldness of the creators that, notwithstanding the poor quality of the special effects, send the heroes into a relentless series of huge set-pieces, but by the end I was missing a more solid director power and I could no longer bear Gwyneth Paltrow, who has forgotten how to act and whose annoying character destroys the godly Angelina in five minutes. That said, it’s likeable bullshit with a filmmaking soul. 70%
()
The stylized visuals are complemented by excellent sound and a great orchestral soundtrack. However, the story lags a long way behind the quality of the technical aspects. Although it is completely obvious that this is intentionally naive as a dime novel, but perhaps they go too far. It’s nice that it was basically made by one person in his garage, but that is no excuse for all of the shortcomings. Another disappointment is Jude Law: he simply isn’t the heroic adventurer type. Conversely, the lately rather back-seated Paltrow seems to really enjoy her role as the journalist. Another plus point is the goading humor between the central duo which, luckily, works, saving a lot.
()
Gallery (179)
Photo © 2004 Paramount Pictures
Ads