Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Kerry Conran

Writer:

Kerry Conran (written by)

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The world will tremble this September!

Plot:

After New York City receives a series of attacks from giant flying robots, a reporter teams up with a pilot in search of their origin, as well as the reason for the disappearances of famous scientists around the world.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Scientist | Reporter | New York City | Giant Robot

Awards:

3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Polly Perkins
Jude Law	...	Sky Captain
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Dex
Michael Gambon	...	Editor Paley
Ling Bai	...	Mysterious Woman
Omid Djalili	...	Kaji
Laurence Olivier	...	Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage) (as Sir Laurence Olivier)
Angelina Jolie	...	Franky
Trevor Baxter	...	Dr. Jennings
Julian Curry	...	Dr. Vargas
Peter Law	...	Dr. Kessler
Jon Rumney	...	German Scientist
Khan Bonfils	...	Creepy
Samta Gyatso	...	Scary
Louis Hilyer	...	Executive Officer

Also Known As:

The World of Tomorrow (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sequences of stylized sci-fi violence and brief mild language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | UK | Italy

Language:

English | Tibetan | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:All | Malaysia:U | Sweden:11 | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:12 | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:U | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40987) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Chandler Valley Center Studios - 13927 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Brooklyn Films II

Trivia:

Angelina Jolie's part only took three days to shoot.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When on his P-40 plane, Captain Sky and his passenger Polly are not wearing headsets. Wind on the fuselage, vibration and engine noise would make it impossible to talk to control tower and they'd have to scream to be heard inside the plane. Yet they speak normally, as if they were sitting in their living room.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Hindenburg announcer: Attention. Please prepare for docking procedure.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Saturday Night Live: Jude Law/Ashlee Simpson (#30.3)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Over the Rainbow

Visuals And Audio Are Incredble; Story Is So-So

Wow, what an amazing visual film. Being someone who loves cinematography and artwork in general, I acquired this film quickly after hearing about it. I wasn't disappointed, except for the story which was just so-so.

Almost the whole film is computerized and almost has a painting-like look to it. In fact, many scenes look as if Edward Hopper had painted them. Yet, it is a live-action movie with real actors whose faces aren't altered, except for Gywneth Paltrow's hair which is made more blondish and shimmering.

Story-wise, it's nothing special, just a corny old-time serial story about someone using high-tech robots and spaceships to take over the planet. The time period, however, is pre-World War II so to see this futuristic type of robot is a bit of a stretch. Nonetheless, it's a strictly old-fashioned sci-fi story with little profanity and, except for the robots, a great retro look.

Going back to that "look," this film is still very worthy of viewing because it's absolutely stunning to see. There truly is nothing quite like it. I'm sorry it didn't do well at the box office because that won't encourage others to make more of these visually-inventive kind of films. This must look beyond incredible on an expensive plasma TV set!

Also notable is the sound. The better the sound system you have, the more you will be blown away with the audio here. It's as good as the visuals. If only the story was as good!