Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

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% (24/01/2019)

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. (02/11/2004)

Yes, the film has a weak story. But to criticise it for that would be like being upset at the lack of dinosaurs in Schindler’s List. Because Sky Captain is pure fan pleasure whose main asset is what Star Wars has, which is something that 90% of current Hollywood productions lack. Sky Captain is a beautiful tribute to old movies, with pleasant humour, great heroic music and likeable protagonists (Jude Law and Angelina Jolie are excellent; only Gwyneth Paltrow seemed to me to be a bit unsure of what she was supposed to be doing). The sets need no comment; the Tibetan “recreational” valley reminded me of Rivendell from The Lord of the Rings. I was almost moved at moments. The only thing that prevents Sky Captain from being perfect is the lack of a specially adapted black-and-white version. P.S. The film points to an era in which flesh-and-blood actors will be replaced by digital facsimiles in films. (11/01/2005)

Although The World of Tomorrow is playful and its patina of old movies is charming, the flimsy and predictable story cannot be hidden by the most compelling visuals. There were moments when I was actually bored. Even so, Conran's film reminded me a bit of some of Karel Zeman's films with its visual innovation and retro mood. I'm definitely curious about Conran's next project. (20/01/2005)

A lot of blinking, lively dialogues, and one big toy that I can't play with. Jude Law is forever a character actor for me, who has nothing in common with a smiling action hero, and the cold Angelina is pure agony this time. The only significant advantage is that something is constantly moving, breaking, or flying on the screen, but in terms of how much was said about the film during its creation and how the creators boasted about it being a historic milestone, it quickly deservedly fell into oblivion. (12/09/2007)