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Back Shelf Beauties
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Sky Captain and the If you're in the mood to see something like you have never seen before, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is the movie for you. The story is part Indiana Jones and part 50's Sci Fi B-movie, but the visuals are 21st century and beyond. Set in 1939, the film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins - a plucky, aggressive, no nonsense reporter hot on a story, when huge, flying robots invade New York and major cities all over the world to steal generators and other industrial materials. The intrepid Sky Captain Joe Sullivan (Jude Law) is called in to save the day and to discover why these mechanical beings have invaded, while Polly, who has a romantic past with the Sky Captain, makes a deal to tag along when she realizes her story about kidnapped scientists is related to the crisis. Who is behind this dastardly plan? What is the dastardly plan? Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a fun, exciting, visually stunning film that falls just short of brilliant. Writer/director Kerry Conran is the brain behind an amazing technique that digitally creates almost everything you see in every scene. Planes, robots, cities, seas and more were filled in later after the actors performed against a blue screen, much like the one your local weather person uses each night on the evening news. This gives Conran a chance to create a visually lush movie with rich colors and shading that harkens back to a nostalgic time. Not to sound ridiculous, but Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looks like a movie lost long ago, like a black and white movie shot in color (compare the shading used in this movie against any classic black and white film noir and you'll see what I mean). It has a certain undeniable magic movie fans will find thrilling. Conran, who has been working on the film and its prototype for several years, could have spent a bit more time on the story, but what he has will not disappoint you. In epic style, he takes us on a journey around the globe as Sky Captain and Polly head to mysterious lands, much like Indiana Jones. Conran makes no bones about his love of landmark films worshiped by geeks like me as he throws in plenty of allusions to Indiana Jones, King Kong, Star Wars and another "sweet" tip of the hat to George Lucas, but he needs more information to complicate the mysterious plot Sky Captain and Polly are trying to solve. At times, I felt like we were going from place to place without picking up any major clues or taking any shocking twists that would excite our minds as much as our eyes. It's a simple story, but an enjoyable one, even if I missed most of the smart jokes. Rather than step forward and try to dominate the film, Paltrow and Law wisely allow themselves to be pieces in the puzzle. Paltrow more than Law immerses herself in the style, and comes off like Katherine Hepburn. She understands how to adopt the speech patterns, adjust the tone of her voice and pull back just a bit when displaying her emotions, much like any great film star of the times would have done. Law is solid, but I would have liked to see him be like Clark Gable with more swagger in his step, which would have been perfectly appropriate in this movie. As far as co-star Angelina Jolie, I have a feeling she did this one due to her love of flying rather than the size of the role. She doesn't do much, but she gives the film a shot of adrenaline when it needs it. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is one to see, especially if you are the type of movie fan who wants to experience movies that try something special. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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