Review of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) by Joe M — 24 Oct 2011

Back when comic book style movies were only a notion, Sky Commander appeared on the scene with a graphic style that perhaps flopped at the time. With the success of Watchmen and 300 it is easy to believe that had this movie been released now, it would have been a success. But the style of visual flare that this movie presented was difficult for cinema fans to engage with at the time. That, and the fact that, really, its quite a silly premise. But then again, for a movie based of a comic book, what was there to expect? Sky Commander is nothing impressive but it is original and a pretty enjoyable watch. Whilst the momentum the movie creates at the beginning peters out quite quickly, there are a few moments of cinematic magic that hold the attention. However, Angelina Jolie in an eyepatch and planes that can fly underwater is just frankly silly. Also the fact that nothing but the actors are real in this movie means that everything lacks a real tangible quality about it and it makes the experience sadly far too easy to disengage with. But if you switch off and enjoy the movie for its silliness then you're going to have a pretty enjoyable ride, although a fairly forgettable one at that.

Look out for:- the moment when a squadron of planes rather stupidly survive impact with the water and, more bizarrely, actually become watertight and 'fly' underwater.