Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Review by Clint Morris
 Having
obviously heard the mutter of "they don’t make ‘em
like they use to" once too often, director Kerry Conran
set off to make a movie ‘like they use to’, one
of those rousing adventure spectacles of the 1930s that would
have kids lining up around the block to see it.
The year is 1939, and New York is under threat from giant
robots that march through its concrete streets wreaking havoc.
It seems that these metal giants have something to do with
the disappearance of the city’s prominent scientists,
and both reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and ace
pilot Joseph Sullivan (Jude Law), a.k.a 'Sky Captain' are
keen to find the link.
From the frozen Himalayas, to a 'Jurassic Park'-like jungle,
and even a hovering airship, they’ll get their answers
by the time the film comes to an end.
A spectacular show of visual effects and computer generated
imagery – the actors act seamlessly in front of blue
screens in every scene – Sky Captain unfortunately
neglects to remember what so many other contemporary studio
films usually do: a decent script.
What we’ve got here is something that looks good, but
ultimately makes very little sense, seemingly spinning off
into a messy celluloid interpretation of someone’s dot
points.
In addition, despite the fact the actors are good at acting
opposite non-existent backdrops, they’re all wailing
in the shoes of some pretty uninteresting characters. There’s
not one central character that doesn’t embody the dimensions
of a piece of A4, they’re that thin.
Some great effects, but not much more – this chap was
keen to make his visit to ‘the world of tomorrow’
a reasonably short one.
2 out of 5
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Australian release: Thursday February 3rd, 2005
Cast: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Bai Ling,
Michael Gambon, Giovanni Ribisi, Laurence Olivier.
Director: Kerry Conran.
Website: Click
here.
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