Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

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.

Director:

Kerry Conran

Writer:

Kerry Conran

Stars:

Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Angelina Jolie

8 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Polly Perkins
Jude Law	...	Sky Captain
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Dex
Michael Gambon	...	Editor Paley
Bai Ling	...	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

Storyline

In 1939, an intrepid reporter in New York City makes a connection between the story she's covering, of famous scientists suddenly disappearing around the world, and a recent attack on the city by giant robots. Determined to find the solution to these happenings, she seeks the help of her ex-boyfriend, the Captain of a mercenary legion of pilots. The two are investigating the case when the robots attack the city again, though in a stroke of luck, Sky Captain Harry Joseph "Joe" Sullivan's right-hand man Dex (Giovanni Ribisi) is able to locate their source. They then set off on an adventure in search of the evil mastermind behind these schemes, who is bent on creating a utopia and destroying the current world.

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Plot Keywords:

steampunk | reporter | dieselpunk | mechanical monster | shangri la | 

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Taglines:

The Battle for Tomorrow is About to Begin...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

While the project was still in early development, writer and director Kerry Conran originally wanted to produce it as if it were a lost serial from the 1930s, with the movie featuring unknown actors, shot in black-and-white, and divided into chapters, each ending with a cliffhanger. All of these ideas were subsequently abandoned in an attempt to gain bigger box-office appeal.

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Goofs

The German rocket's display showing its height contains three spelling mistakes: "VERSTARKER" (booster, amplifier) should be written with A-umlaut and the plural of kilometer is simply kilometer, without s at the end, and since nouns are capitalized in German it should actually read "Kilometer".

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Quotes

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

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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.

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Connections

References The Invisible Man (1933)

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Soundtracks

Fairyland
by Herbert Stothart
Used by permission of EMI Feist Catalog Inc.

User Reviews

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!

Details

Country:

USA UK Italy

Language:

English Tibetan German

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The World of Tomorrow

Filming Locations:

Cardington Airship Hangars, Bedfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,580,278, 19 September 2004

Gross USA:

$37,762,677

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,947,036

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Brooklyn Films II, Riff Raff Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1