Review of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) by Tyler M — 31 Mar 2012

Welcome to tomorrow... Which is actually yesterday... Or more like the 30's.

It's a great adventure from start to finish, and it's a technological breakthrough of the biggest kind.

The Story: 1930's New York is being terrorized by giant machines and it's up to the Sky Captain to find out why... There's a lot to say about this film so get comfortable. First, it's pretty much ALL CG the entire film was shot in front of blue screens, and I know, I'm not much for special effects, but this is special effects to push the limits of film as a true art form. It's stylish like nothing you've ever seen before, it's got a great 30's feel to it, and the soft almost glowing look of everything is beyond original. It's honestly like a comic book come to life. Second, the cast is brilliant, but I'll get to that in a little bit. Third the script as original as the style, although there is a few moments of corniness here and there. I guess my only problem is that there's a few parts here and there where it would be nice to have a little more reaction from the characters. Maybe it's intentional to not have the hair blowing at times when they're obviously moving fast, or maybe it's just a mistake, or maybe it's just because they weren't really anywhere other than a sound stage. It's not a big deal, but every once in while you see something that just doesn't look right, like maybe the actor should trip be jolted by some kind of impact. It's not a deal breaker but it's odd none the less.

The Cast: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow... Jude Law is Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan, the hero. He's like a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. He gives a great performance here that could almost steal the show if the show weren't entirely CG. One of his greatest performances to date. Gwyneth Paltrow is Polly Perkins, a reporter looking for a story, and possibly a little romance... But mainly a story... She gives a great performance here, but she can't quite measure up to Jude Law. There's a few moments of stiff dialogue from each of them here and there, but I don't know if it's poor acting or just the way the script was intended to be. Either way though, these two make one hell of a pair.

One to Five Scale: 5.

It's technical brilliance, outstanding art design, great acting, superb writing, and charming sense of humor make this one well worth the price of admission. I got this for ten dollars at Wal-Mart, and I would honestly pay twice that for this film. There's no reason to let this one pass you by so go out and get your hands on it right now!

Tyler.