| PRODUCT DETAILS | | Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow [HD DVD] |  | |
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow [HD DVD]
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.
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
Price: $7.72
 Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow [HD DVD]
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| User Reviews |  | Technically and stylisitcally intersting but falls very flat
rating: 3
This is hard movie to rate, it's interesting to see once for the FX, for the designs, for the production. It was one of the first films to use a 'digital backlot' with almost no sets or props just blue screens and computers.
The idea is also fun, it's a homage to 30s serials with a high-flying ace in his super plane and a spunky reporter tagging along as he travels to lost civilizations and battles a mad scientist.
But Sky Captain is horribly miscast, Jude Law sleepwalks through this never having fun, never bringing any energy to the part. A film like this calls for an over-acting scenery-chewing he-man instead it gets a calm, polite understated Englishman.
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Calling Sky Captain! Repeat, calling Sky Captain !
rating: 4
Cornball plot but cool movie nonetheless. Although Gwyneth Paltrow, as Polly Perkins acts and talks like she's spaced-out (i.e. reading from a script) like she tends to do in a lot of her movies. Jude Law's (Sky Captain) voice somehow always seems to grate on me.
The digital special effects seem to take one back to another time in film-making (yeah, I know). Though the acting was rather stiff; especially from Angelina Jolie, it was a fun adventure film. Funny also with Gwyneth Paltrow and her camera; deciding whether or not to take a shot, knowing full well she's almost out of film.
The "robot monsters" were pretty cool. But it was kind of stupid that Sky Captain was flying a "prop job" (P-40) with some "futuristic hardware" that didn't go with the airplane.
Giovanni Ribisi plays Dex, the chewing gum chomping stereotype of a mechanical wiz that's a throwback from the "old movies" - yeah, I know, that's the way it was meant to be. But he over-acted to the point of being very annoying.
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Surprisingly good
rating: 4
Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow is perhaps the first film whose computer special effects wizardry was trotted out as a reason to see it that I can honestly say is a good film, a very good film. Are there films that bowl one over more impressively? Yes. But this film is virtually all special effects, and was filmed on a blue screen soundstage. The texture of the film, the lighting, and the iconographic imagery, as well as stylistic techniques, all evoke the feel of 1930s-1950s era science fiction films, especially the serial films of that period.
First time director Kerry Conran does a marvelous job of recreating the feel of when the world was still large and dark and fearsome, in this late 2004 film, even more so than Peter Jackson did in last year's late sci fi entry King Kong. Where that film was a remake of a classic sci fi film from that era, this film is an homage, and it succeeds all the more for it. Perhaps the only thing that could have made it more rollicking was the use of chapter breaks, which the DVD commentaries say was tried, but ultimately cut out of the final cut of the film, which is only 95 minutes long, and moves briskly. The plot is threadbare, but that's perfect for this action oriented sci fi serial homage. The pre-World war Two world is being decimated by giant flying robots who steal all manner of industrial equipment. New York is laid waste, and reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) has a lead as to who may be behind it all.
Yet, as referential as it is, the film establishes its own identity, with repartee between Polly and Joe hinting at a romantic past that went kaput, and their banter about her only having two photograph shots left, add quite a bit to characterization, in an offhanded way. Paltrow evokes the sort of heroine a Faith Domergue played in many such films. There are also many small touches that enhance scenes and characters, such as when Polly and Joe land on the Totenkopf's island, she notices that the reflection of his plane's serial number h110d spells Polly, in the reflected water, or the excellent use of scenes from The Wizard Of Oz in Radio City Music Hall, as Polly questions a scared scientist. Almost every scene has such details that subliminally enhance the overall work. Compared to Steven Spielberg's lame Indiana Jones serial homage film series from twenty years ago, Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow shows how to do it right, using special effects as an integral part of the tale, not just for a wow factor. It will be interesting to see, if after a decade making this film, Conran is only a one hit wonder, or a true young stud of cinema. He's already shown he has a better visual style than Spielberg, and certainly a better understanding for character and plot, for he knows that such beautiful fluff plays best when played straight.
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GREAT ENTERTAINMENT UNLIKE ANYTHING BEFORE IT!!!
rating: 5
MAGNIFICENTLY ORIGINAL! I've read many of the negative reviews of this film, and I'm astonished at some of the complaints people have come-up with. Well, don't listen to them. If you're looking for something very different from what you've ever seen before (with a pretty good fantasy story line as well) just turn your brain off for a while, and enjoy the stunning visualizations that unfold before your very eyes! The incredible talents who produced this film should be proud of their stunning accomplishment!
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Fun enough, but nothing more
rating: 3
Sci-fi adventure movie set in an alternative 1939. When giant robots appear out of nowhere and start attacking various nations around the world, plundering their gas, oil and other natural resources, the whole world is mystified as to where they come from and who is behind them. It is up to hero and elite fighter pilot Sky Captain (played by Jude Law) to get to the bottom of this mystery and identify whoever is behind these attacks, as well as their motives, and to bring them to justice. Sky Captain sets off on this mission accompanied by ruthless reporter and former love interest Polly Perkins (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) - who he can't stand. But they must learn to get along and work together if they are to survive the dangers that they will face in their perilous quest. An okay sci-fi film, with very good special effects - the last half an hour is especially good - and an interesting black and white look which is a nod to the comic book serials of the 1930s but which suffers from a plot that is just too basic and a daft premise in which the whole world looks up to a man called Sky Captain to protect them from the forces of evil whose claim to fame is that he can fly a plane (he has no special abilities and can't even fight particularly well). Fun enough, but nothing more. (Note: this film also features Angelina Jolie as a military commander.)
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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow [HD DVD]
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