Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is in my opinion one of the most misunderstood movies of the year. Admittedly, I would not expect it to appeal to or to be understood by a wide public.
The story plays in a fictitious late 1930s world that is filled with adventure, heroes and villains. Mysterious giant robots threaten the world and hunt a select group of scientist involved in a secret project. The journalist Polly Perkins (played by a convincing Gwyneth Paltrow) and humanities protector Joe 'Sky Captain' Sullivan (played by a larger than live Jude Law) are out to solve the mystery and save the day. At their side are the scientific genius of Dex Dearborn (played by Giovanni Ribisi) and the roguish military commander Capt. Francesca 'Franky' Cook (played by Angelina Jolie).
Kerry Conran has written and directed one of the most unusual films I have seen this year. The list of producers includes Aurelio De Laurentiis and Raffaella De Laurentiis, which should send of alarm bells in the fans of old style adventure and science fiction movies; here is a movie to watch out for. The style of the movie is different, sepia tones are predominant, giving it an atmosphere typical of films seen in the 1920s to 1940s or in comics and graphic novels of the time. The story, set elements, lines dwell on quotes from movies of this period and other classics of the SF and adventure cinema.
The story and dialog reflect the period, the story being very linear and idolized, the dialog restrained and consistent with the period. The movie does not take itself too seriously and points out the limitations of the time; Gwynneth Paltrow's character is taunted for not being able to say "naked". This is very consistent with the behavioral rules of the 1930s. Angelina Jolie brought time and role specific slang along, making her role and performance a real pleasure to watch. The world view is painted in black and white with the characters being larger than life as befitting the theme as well.
Personally this movie meant a lot to me as I saw in it references to some of my favorite movies and movie personalities, like Ray Harryhausen, Laurence Olivier, Orson Wells, Fritz Lang and many more. However, if you are not a purveyor of "old time" movies, classics, this film will be near meaningless to you. It is definitively out of this time and will simply appear flat and only amaze you because of its use of cgi, which is not enough to go by. I recommend this movie to fans and geeks, but if you have no knowledge of movie history, move on, watch the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Batman Begins" or "The Incredibles", you will be disappointed with this one. If you admire people like Orson Wells and Ray Harryhausen, love watching "Forbidden Planet" and "King Kong (1933)", grab some pop corn, lean back in your seat and enjoy the ride.
The story plays in a fictitious late 1930s world that is filled with adventure, heroes and villains. Mysterious giant robots threaten the world and hunt a select group of scientist involved in a secret project. The journalist Polly Perkins (played by a convincing Gwyneth Paltrow) and humanities protector Joe 'Sky Captain' Sullivan (played by a larger than live Jude Law) are out to solve the mystery and save the day. At their side are the scientific genius of Dex Dearborn (played by Giovanni Ribisi) and the roguish military commander Capt. Francesca 'Franky' Cook (played by Angelina Jolie).
Kerry Conran has written and directed one of the most unusual films I have seen this year. The list of producers includes Aurelio De Laurentiis and Raffaella De Laurentiis, which should send of alarm bells in the fans of old style adventure and science fiction movies; here is a movie to watch out for. The style of the movie is different, sepia tones are predominant, giving it an atmosphere typical of films seen in the 1920s to 1940s or in comics and graphic novels of the time. The story, set elements, lines dwell on quotes from movies of this period and other classics of the SF and adventure cinema.
The story and dialog reflect the period, the story being very linear and idolized, the dialog restrained and consistent with the period. The movie does not take itself too seriously and points out the limitations of the time; Gwynneth Paltrow's character is taunted for not being able to say "naked". This is very consistent with the behavioral rules of the 1930s. Angelina Jolie brought time and role specific slang along, making her role and performance a real pleasure to watch. The world view is painted in black and white with the characters being larger than life as befitting the theme as well.
Personally this movie meant a lot to me as I saw in it references to some of my favorite movies and movie personalities, like Ray Harryhausen, Laurence Olivier, Orson Wells, Fritz Lang and many more. However, if you are not a purveyor of "old time" movies, classics, this film will be near meaningless to you. It is definitively out of this time and will simply appear flat and only amaze you because of its use of cgi, which is not enough to go by. I recommend this movie to fans and geeks, but if you have no knowledge of movie history, move on, watch the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Batman Begins" or "The Incredibles", you will be disappointed with this one. If you admire people like Orson Wells and Ray Harryhausen, love watching "Forbidden Planet" and "King Kong (1933)", grab some pop corn, lean back in your seat and enjoy the ride.