Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

  • 20042004
  • PGPG
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
85K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,474
459
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:57
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureMystery
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 ... Read allAfter 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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
85K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,474
459
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kerry Conran
    • Writer
      • Kerry Conran
    • Stars
      • Gwyneth Paltrow
      • Jude Law
      • Angelina Jolie
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kerry Conran
    • Writer
      • Kerry Conran
    • Stars
      • Gwyneth Paltrow
      • Jude Law
      • Angelina Jolie
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 662User reviews
    • 98Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 19 nominations

    Videos1

    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
    Trailer 1:57
    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

    Photos327

    Kerry Conran in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Jude Law, Jon Avnet, and Angelina Jolie in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Jon Avnet and Kerry Conran in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kerry Conran in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Jude Law in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Angelina Jolie in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gwyneth Paltrow
    Gwyneth Paltrow
    • Polly Perkins
    Jude Law
    Jude Law
    • Sky Captain
    Angelina Jolie
    Angelina Jolie
    • Franky
    Giovanni Ribisi
    Giovanni Ribisi
    • Dex
    Michael Gambon
    Michael Gambon
    • Editor Paley
    Bai Ling
    Bai Ling
    • Mysterious Woman
    Omid Djalili
    Omid Djalili
    • Kaji
    Laurence Olivier
    Laurence Olivier
    • Dr. Totenkopf
    • (archive footage)
    • (as Sir Laurence Olivier)
    Trevor Baxter
    Trevor Baxter
    • Dr. Jennings
    Julian Curry
    • Dr. Vargas
    Peter Law
    • Dr. Kessler
    Jon Rumney
    Jon Rumney
    • German Scientist
    Khan Bonfils
    • Creepy
    Samta Gyatso
    • Scary
    Louis Hilyer
    • Executive Officer
    Mark Wells
    Mark Wells
    • Communications Engineer
    James Cash
    • Uniformed Officer
    Tenzin Bhagen
    • Kalacakra Priest
    • Director
      • Kerry Conran
    • Writer
      • Kerry Conran
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Beowulf
    6.3
    Beowulf
    Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
    5.7
    Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
    The World of Tomorrow
    7.0
    The World of Tomorrow
    Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
    5.5
    Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
    The Time Machine
    5.9
    The Time Machine
    Beyond Borders
    6.4
    Beyond Borders
    Gumdrop
    6.2
    Gumdrop
    Hackers
    6.2
    Hackers
    Salt
    6.4
    Salt
    Evolution
    6.1
    Evolution
    Repo Men
    6.3
    Repo Men
    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
    5.8
    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      As Sky Captain and Polly Perkins fly submerged with "The Amphibious Squadron", they "overfly" a sunken steamer named "Venture". It's the ship used to bring King Kong (1933) to New York City. It even includes, on its deck, a cage large enough to confine Kong; implying perhaps that this is the original Skull Island.
    • Goofs
      When Joe's plane dives into the sea and converts into a submarine, the force of impact with the water would have surely sheered the wings off of a normal P-40. However, as the plane is obviously been made watertight, as well as fitted with sonar, precautions must have also been made to brace the wings from impact.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      [instead of taking a picture of the pods falling to Earth, Polly turns and snaps a shot of Joe]

      Joe 'Sky Captain' Sullivan: Polly... you...

      Polly Perkins: It's all right. You don't have to say anything.

      Joe 'Sky Captain' Sullivan: Lens cap.

    • Crazy credits
      Laurence Olivier is given a major on-screen credit, despite only being in the film through archive footage and having another actor voice his character's lines.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Flying Legion Air Combat Challenge (2004)
    • Soundtracks
      Over the Rainbow
      Written by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen

      Performed by Jane Monheit

      Used by permission of EMI Feist Catalog Inc.

      Jane Monheit appears courtesy of Sony Classical

    User reviews662

    Review
    Top review
    Looks great and is a fun homage to the period but what it has in effects & design it lacks in script, characters, plot and humour
    In a 1940's of the future, scientists are mysteriously going missing and only plucky journalist Polly Perkins has a lead. Meeting with a scientist in a secret rendezvous, mere minutes before he disappears, she is horrified by the sudden appearance in New York of a horde of giant robots. Luckily Sky Captain Joe Sullivan comes to the rescue in his customised Spitfire and prevents the robots robbing the city's central generators. With further attacks around the globe, Sky Captain and his group team up with Polly to track down the source of the robot menace, uncover the plot involved and stop it before it is too late.

    All the interviews around this film have talked up the visuals and the possibilities of making movies entirely on blue screen etc and, to be honest, the marketing behind the film reflects it really well because it is all about the visual style and effects with very little else. The film starts immediately with a really great visual feel that harks back to the old sci-fi serials of the 1930/40's where the future is based on the present with knobs on. The lighting and delivery is all fitting this period and it works pretty well on this level. The scale and nature of the effects are impressive, they are all retro and look great and only occasionally is it obvious that the actors are staring at things that aren't there. Of course after this we have problems, because looks enough aren't quite enough to make it all work. The period feel will make it a cult film with time but at the moment it is not enough to just sell me a computer generated yarn with no substance to it.

    I suppose in a way the writing and delivery is all in keeping with the genre that it is homaging but this is a thin excuse for material that is slightly dull and lacks the twinkle and wit it really needed. Wooden acting and clunky dialogue can be fun if served up with the tongue in the cheek but that never really happens here to the degree it should. Thinks looked good at the start with Godzilla making an appearance on a Japanese newspaper but aside from this and a handful of other comic touches the film is played pretty straight – meaning we feel we should treat it so, something I found too hard to do. The dialogue is fun at times but is mostly as stiff as much of the delivery. The cast are not to blame because they are remote from the action, secondary to the visuals and trying to match the acting of the genre, which is traditionally wooden. I'm not totally sure that bringing back Olivier was a good idea but it was such a small part of the film that it didn't really matter and left me wondering why they bothered in the first place.

    Law is boyishly handsome and works pretty well with the material, looking very British in his beautiful Spitfire. He has fun with his character and he at least seems to be in on the joke. Paltrow has some comic moments but mainly she plays it pretty straight and is a little dull. Ribisi is all at sea, he plays it straight and looks bad as a result. Jolie is a nice addition but has little time to make an impression – she never has a character and is really nothing more than a set of lips! Support from Gambon and Ling Bai is wasted and neither makes an impression – especially disappointing from Ling who is really the main baddie for the majority of the film. None of them are good enough to make the plot engaging or bring out characters in their genre clichés but they try their best and at least fit into the period quite well.

    Overall this is eye candy but it is candy that will develop a cult following based on how well it captures those old serials and the scale of the visual designs and effects. Many viewers will lament that Conran didn't move away from his computer for longer and put more heart and wit into the script because this has little or no substance to it and, when backdrops are not stunning and robots are not stomping it can get dull (and does). Worth seeing for the effects and the visuals, this is a very expensive sci-fi serial that is fun but sadly lacks any substances, characters or real humour.
    helpful•104
    56
    • bob the moo
    • Oct 10, 2004

    FAQ2

    • What was in the vials?
    • Why is Joe Sullivan called "Sky Captain?"

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 17, 2004 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Italy
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Tibetan
      • German
    • Also known as
      • The World of Tomorrow
    • Filming locations
      • Chandler Valley Center Studios - 13927 Saticoy St, Panorama City, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Brooklyn Films II
      • Riff Raff Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $70,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $37,762,677
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,580,278
      • Sep 19, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $57,947,036
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS-ES
      • Dolby Digital EX
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.