Mary and I had the opportunity to enjoy a "date night" on Friday. First we enjoyed a nice dinner at Johnny Carinos Italian restaurant. Next we went to the mall and pigged out on ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery (superior to Marble Slab in case you are wondering). Finally, it was on the cinema to take in a showing of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
I received a great deal of chastisement for my review of Pirates of the Carribean, a film that turned out to be a crowd-pleaser. I am afraid that I am about to tread on thin ice once again with my comments regarding Sky Captain. Nevertheless, I must speak the truth as I see it. (You sense a favorable review coming, doncha?)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is an action-adventure that takes place in a post-World War I world. Great scientists are mysteriously disappearing. Journalist Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and famous aviator Sky Captain (Jude Law) are hot on the trail to discover what is happening. Along the way, the unravel a sinister plot that could mean the end of the world. Of course, they intend to save the day. With a little help from technology wonderboy Dex (Giovanni Ribisi) and Commander Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie), they encounter ominous robots and devious villians en route to accomplishing their mission.
Reminisicent of your Grandparents' Saturday morning serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Sky Captain attempts to emulate too many genres. In doing so, it reminds me of a Bennigans restaurant. There are so many items on the menu that few of the meals are prepared to a satisfactory level of excellence.
Sky Captain starts with a film-noir touch. Sepia tones blending into stark blacks and grays are highlighted by pronounced shadows, giving the picture a dark and ominous feel. Fantastic oversized robots enter New York City by air and terrorize the population. Perkins is determined to find out what is going on and she ends up hot on the trail with Sky Captain. As the two begin to bicker and banter, we discover there is history between them.
And so the adventure begins. And thats about where it ends.
I won't get into the details of the plot, but I have some comments as to why I believe the film fails.
Most importantly, there is very little depth to the characters. So little, in fact, that I really couldn't care less what happened to them by the end of the film. Typically, resolution between the male and female leads is a high-point in the story. In this case, it was more like "so they get together no kidding what's next" feeling. I had very little empathy for either of them. Which leads me to my next point.
Sky Captain was cast terribly. Jude Law was not a very likable hero. In fact, I didn't really see him as heroic. Gwyneth Paltrow was barely believable as a modern-day Ingrid Bergman.
The director attempted to let the imagery carry much of the story, overemphasizing the shadows, stark contrasts and gradual introduction of more vibrant colors. Rather than introduce these elements at logical points in the film, it seemed to pace incrementally throughout giving a sense of knowing exactly where we would end up by the finish of the film.
The images were somewhat murky. My wife even commented that she had a difficult time focusing on the picture at times. Many of the special effects were good. But the blue-screen effect was overdone and it was quite obvious when an unbelievable scene really was unbelievable due to the final quality, or lack of it.
In the spirit of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and even Pirates of the Carribean, action/adventures typically infuse a healthy dose of humor to endear us to the characters and break up the action sequences. Sky Captain tosses in a few jokes and sight gags, but they are few and far between. The funniest moment in the picture is the very last line. It was quite funny, but it was destined to be so as the director had been working very hard to get to the punchline throughout the second half of the picture.
On the upside, Sky Captain does have some very nice special effects. Laser guns, flying robots, mechanical birds and the ubiquitous doomsday device made for nice eye candy. However, we come to expect special effects in our movies. They are certainly not enough to carry a film.
I wish I could recommend Sky Captain as it is one of the few PG rated pictures to appear in the theatres in a time where there is a great need for family-friendly films. And perhaps I am being too harsh because I happen to think my 12-year old son would probably enjoy the picture. So send the kids if you want, but check your brain at the door and consider taking a nap through this one. 2 1/2 stars out of 5.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
October 4, 2004 12:54 AM
Hmmm...I kinda liked it. I never over analyzed Flash Gordon or expected deep character development from that series so I went into this movie with a low cinematic bar I guess. I thought it was a fun getaway from reality. Hey...gimme a call or email sometime.
Later
Ken
October 4, 2004 02:06 AM
Aahhh, Mr. Mayor -- My wife & I also recently took in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow on a far too infrequent "datenight". Our differences were that we enjoyed the "Outback" for dinner and the movie. Now admittedly we are not film connoisseurs but for a Friday night escape, it did quite nicely. I'll cast my vote with Ken ; )
October 4, 2004 02:31 AM
See? I'm catching flack already! And this is from friends!!! That's alright.. I'm a big boy and can take it. sniff... ;-)
October 5, 2004 08:42 PM
Sorry, guys. I have to side with my husband on this one. In fact I liked it even less than he did! I believe my assessment was that this film was "John Kerry" -- all polish, no substance. (Oops! Have I opened a can of worms...? Hmmm. We might have ta go fishin'!) ;-)
February 15, 2005 03:33 PM
What was the VERY LAST LINE of the movie??? I was totally talking to my friend and completely missed it and nows it bugging the crap out of me!!
July 6, 2006 11:11 AM
You guys are the 64162 best, thanks so much for the help.