Movie Review: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Movie: Execution:
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

I first heard about this movie a year ago or so. The title alone convinced me that it was stupid and I wouldn't want to see it. That'll teach me to judge the book by its cover! As more news came out about the film and I learned of its unique production, I became more and more determined to see it. So when it opened this weekend, I finally did.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow actually opens in the world of yesterday, the 1930's to be precise. Intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) has been working on stories involving the disappearances of several scientists when she finds herself in the midst of the biggest story of her life. She's on the street when airplanes fly overhead, shooting at everything in their path; and she's witness to scores of giant robots marching block after city block, focused on who knows what nefarious mission. An urgent call for help to Sky Captain (Jude Law) is made; the mercenary responds and is able to take out a few of the metal behemoths before they mysteriously stop in their tracks and go back to wherever it was they came from. Perkins isn't sure how the robots relate to the missing scientists, but she's certain that they do; she pays a visit to Sky Captain who happens to be her ex-paramour. He isn't thrilled to see her, but he's tempted into working together when he becomes convinced information she has might prove helpful to him in fighting the robots the next time they appear.

With that, Sky Captain and Polly Perkins embark on a trip around the world seeking the source of the robots and, incidentally, perhaps finding the missing scientists. With the help of his own technical wizard Dex Dearborn (Giovanni Ribisi), Sky Captain finds himself closer and closer to getting a bead on the mysterious Dr. Totenkopf, the man Perkins has learned is likely behind at least the disappearances. But there's much more going on than some simple kidnappings, and the two are in grave danger the closer they approach to the whole truth. With help from another of Sky Captain's beautiful ex-girlfriends (the tough-as-nails Captain Francesca "Franky" Cook, played by Angelina Jolie), the pair are willing to brave almost anything although for very different reasons.

But enough about the storyline. Frankly, it's simplistic and comic bookish (although to be fair, it's meant to be that way). You're really reading this review to hear about the production of the movie. Since that's the main reason I went to see it, you're in luck! In a day and age where special effects are commonplace and often undetectable (Spider Man 2 is a perfect example), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow goes beyond even that level of intensity by making the movie itself one gigantic computer-generated special effect. Oh, the actors are real, and so is their clothing. The props they actually touch are also real. Anything and everything else, however, is computer generated. The actors filmed their parts on a blue screen set. It took 28 days. The rest of the movie took six years to complete. And it just might have been worth it.

From snow to rain to tropical sunshine, the weather is surpisingly well rendered (such large scale random graphics are extremely challenging for computers to render realistically). Objects large and small are almost flawless. Watch the backgrounds in the movie, and you'll see cars traveling along city streets and even having accidents, people walking or jogging aboard giant airships, pennants flying in the breeze, cityscapes and waterfalls - all of it detailed and moving apparently naturally, and absolutely none of it real. Of course, it probably helps that the movie intentionally appears much as a colorized old black and white film does. That's something that both adds to the ambiance as well as being likely to cover up the smallest mistakes. But in all honesty, I don't imagine there were too many mistakes to cover up judging by the quality evident in everything else. The details in some of the gigantic sets alone is fantastic. New York is impressive; the interiors and exteriors of Sky Captain's base are entirely realistic; Dr. Totenkopf's abode is beyond breathtaking.

The acting, which is melodramatic to go with the script, 1930's-serial-style storyline, and the ambiance of the film as a whole, is just fine. Judge Law and Gwyneth Paltrow are terrific; Angelina Jolie and Giovanni Ribisi are also very good. But there's absolutely no question that the star of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is the movie itself, and rightfully so. The movie is the vision of one man who, with just a few minutes of footage laboriously cobbled together in his garage, got himself the funding he needed to extend his dream to feature length. If that original six minutes looked anything like what I saw onscreen this weekend, I would have invested in him myself. This may not be the best movie I've ever seen, but it's probably the only one that forced me to repeatedly remind myself to close my mouth after having had my jaw drop in awe again and again.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is rated PG for "sequences of stylized sci-fi violence [and] brief mild language." There were a number of young children in the theatre when I saw the movie, and they were quiet so apparently were interested. I didn't personally see anything I'd find objectionable for kids that age to be seeing, either. Sky Captain is really a fantasy piece in many ways, and so is perhaps better suited for kids than the plotline might lead you to believe. For adults, though, Sky Captain is something else all together. It's one of the most satisfying feasts for your eyes you could ever imagine, and the implications are staggering—if, that is, you can close your own mouth long enough to think of them. As a movie per se, Sky Captain is only okay. As a precedent and a showpiece for new technology, it's positively brilliant.