Review: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Updated)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is going to be big. It's going to be really big. And when it’s done being big at the movie theaters, it's going to be big on DVD.

Not subtle, not meaningful, and not without gaping plot holes, Sky Captain has the one thing that makes up for all of its other drawbacks: fun. It would be hard to name a movie from the last few years that was as devoted to being a fun ride as this one was--and not in a lewd, American Pie kind of way, but in a wholesome good guys-bad guys way. There wasn't a single face that walked out of the theater without a grin firmly in place after the movie was over, and that is why this movie will be successful.

The story is familiar: mad scientist plots to destroy the world, intrepid (and cute) lady reporter works hard to expose the plot, courageous pilot fights to save the world, and, somewhere along the ride, there's a happy ending. The familiarity lets the viewer focus on what's important. Namely, the gorgeous graphics, the fun gadgets, and the cliffhanger aesthetic of the thing.

The graphics, of course, deserve their own mention (and, I would wager, an Oscar). The film was shot against a blue screen, and almost all of the surroundings were later added in with computer animation. Only the tiniest number of props--those things that were handled directly by the actors--were real, and everything else from the snowy mountains of Tibet to the giant robots moving through the streets of Manhattan were created by computer.

Of course, there's nothing new about that. From Titanic and Who Framed Roger Rabbit to Star Wars: Episode One and Toy Story, the audience is used to computer animation and often seeing it mixed in with live action. What makes it unique here is the scope and the look.

The look, all soft edges and washed out colors, isn't just a nod to old cliffhangers, it's the overall mood of the movie. This is in everything from the design of the virtual sets, the rockets and robots, and the style of acting. Blue screen work is often difficult for actors; it's hard reacting to those things that will only exist months down the road when the computers have done their magic. In this case, though, the understated, slightly removed acting is exactly in line with the rest of the movie. It all feels like something that had been filmed in forties.

And the acting works. Gwyneth Paltrow is spunky and fine as the reporter, Polly Perkins. Special note goes to the charismatic Jude Law (who seems to be popping up in all sorts of movies this year) as Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan and a picture-perfect Giovanni Ribisi as Dex Dearborn, the gadget-building sidekick. Even their names seem to be something straight out of a golden era science fiction story.

I would like to say that the movie was inventive and unique, but that would be a lie. What it is happens to be a loving remembrance of the way movies used to be made, but there is nothing unique about this movie. Many of the visuals come straight out of other movies (even to the point of a few Darth Maul moments). From the visual style of Metropolis to the bubble headed helmets of Flash Gordon, Sky Captain steals the best, the corniest, the most fun, and the most daring of a wealth of other movies; and it does it so well that it will be the rare movie patron that minds the blatant theft.

Sky Captain, while not unique will still exist in a modern realm of its own. The world isn't clamoring for more of this kind of fare, and, barring any sequels, it is doubtful that imitators of this great movie chameleon would be anything near as successful as Sky Captain will be. While it could have been a mockery of the movies that it imitated, instead, played straight, it's just brilliant fun.

Hurry out and see it on the big screen; this one is well worth the money (especially if you catch a matinee--but that might just be nostalgia talking).

Update: De Doc likes it, too.