Review of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Year: 2004 Reviewer: Chris Docker
When I was a kid there used to be Saturday morning matinees, which I would go off and be amused through Pathe News, several cartoons, and a 'feature' aimed squarely at kids. King Kong meets the latest monster from hell, or a swashbuckler or whatever. If Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow had come on I would think I'd got pretty good value that morning. Springing - to all appearances - straight out of a Boys Own story book, we find Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in a 1930s New York. She's a reporter (and well cast in her silliest, most infuriatingly mischievous persona) and he's Sky Captain - head of a private 'for hire' elite group of pilots. His outfit is slightly reminiscent of Thunderbirds - the hotshots that can fight off any catastrophe - and James Bond - his antique spitfire is equipped with every gadget under the sun. New York (and other parts of the world) are being invaded by metal monsters in various forms. At first, it's difficult to place this film - it's a sci fi set in the past - and the strange ochre colours remind us of old photos. The sense of heightened unreality is accentuated by the blue screen shooting (everything except the actual characters is computer generated - the actors simply worked against a blue screen and all backgrounds were added later). Sadly, the film never rises above its novelty factor and becomes a sad procession of new threats to the Sky Captain and his sidekicks as he ploughs bravely towards his goal of saving the world. Angelina Jolie, as a Captain with similarly hi-tech equipment at her army's disposal, is perhaps the saving grace as her quizzical, power-loaded expressions are so interesting to watch. All in all the film has a self-indulgency that suggests it was made for the fun of those concerned; this reek of conceited self-congratulation makes it fit for little more than the Saturday morning viewing of twelve year olds - who these days would be entertained far more by a real movie.
Rating: 5/10
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