Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: Review By Dodd

Flying robots, mutant creatures and evil scientists bent on planetary destruction. What do these things have in common? They are all possible plot devices for B-movies that were especially renowned in the 50’s and 60’s. These were the films that graced the screens of drive-in movies and are remembered for their campy entertainment value. With limitless possibilities, Hollywood has since then reached for the sky by taking advantage of technology and computers. The cheesy adventure of science fiction B-cinema has been missing in action…until now.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is the most recent breakthrough in filmmaking. What happens when a film calls for settings so out of this world that it would take an infinite budget to complete? You could either ask Kevin Costner about Waterworld, or you could just create a fictitious world from scratch using computers entirely. Kevin Conran makes his directorial debut with this astonishing visual spectacle. Instead of scouting locations, Conran filmed the entire feature using in-studio chroma key technology. Every actor did their thing in front of a blank green screen while background occurrences were inserted later in post-production. This is, indeed, a risky experiment in filmmaking, but Conran pulls through with incredible imagination.

Cities around the world are experiencing sudden chaos. As if citizens are not putting up with enough turmoil in their everyday lives, gigantic flying robots are herding into major cities and stealing crucial resources. It is up to Joe “Sky Captain” Sullivan (Jude Law) to save the day. After his sidekick inventor pal Dex (Giovanni Ribisi) is kidnapped by a slew of long-armed droids, he must set out to distant lands to discover their origins and prevent the world from possible destruction. In tow on his journey is his reporter ex-lover Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) who will stop at nothing to get the full scoop.

Sky Captain is by no means worthy of any award nominations for writing. In fact, the script could have been concocted by an eight-year-old with a wild imagination. I usually do not say this, but for once the script is not a serious issue. What we have here is an example of phenomenal filmmaking accompanied by a basic script that adds just the right touch of light humor and storytelling. Instead of thinking contemporary, Sky Captain thinks nostalgic with its touches of film-noir and vintage science fiction. What can be seen on the pages of old tattered comic books is laid out on screen in pure magnificence.

Performances are all pretty decent around the table, but the most credit goes to Angelina Jolie in a supporting role as Joe’s pilot buddy/ex-lover who forms the third point in the love triangle factor. While Paltrow’s Polly is a clean-cut girl from the city, Jolie’s Franky is an eye-patch donning adventurer who serves as the idea competition for Joe’s affection. Giovanni Ribisi is another mentionable scene-stealer as a wide-eyed gadget boy who takes pride in creations such as toyish guns that fire giant blue laser rings. Sir Lawrence Olivier even makes an appearance, which goes to show that computers have the capability to even bring people back from the dead.

Pushing aside the so-so performances and the script, Sky Captain is rewarding in its direction alone. I am not a huge fan of CG creations. It always irks me when films try to incorporate CG characters with real actors and pass it off as realistic. Jar Jar Binks anyone? However, Sky Captain does not sit there and pat itself on the back just for using CG technology. The fictitious worlds are not created without the aesthetics that an on-location director could bring. Scenes are crafted with stylish shadow and light, which goes to show that wise direction choices can be made even if a film is created entirely on a computer.

I could best describe Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as the evolutionary result of many B-movies. If legendary low-budget directors such as Roger Corman could get their hands on material such as this, then Sky Captain would be the finished product. What we have here is B material with a budget and a makeover, and the finished product is simply remarkable. I could knock it for not having the perfect script, but I do not feel that material is on Sky Captain’s agenda. This is a bold experiment in filmmaking and never have I seen anything like it. Even my distaste for artificial characters and environments could not stop me from digging every second of this visual masterpiece. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is an accomplished aesthetic project, and I very much look forward to picking up this piece of sweet eye candy on DVD.