"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow"
It's circa 1939, but not the 1939 you may know about.
In this fantastical world, giant flying robots attack
Gotham City (AKA New York) and ace reporter Polly
Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) is investigating the
unexplained disappearance of the planet's most famous
scientists. With the impending destruction of the city
by the evil Dr. Totenkopf (images of Laurence
Olivier), she enlists the aid of her old friend Joe
(Jude Law) to save the globe in "Sky Captain and the
World of Tomorrow."
"SCatWoT" is an extremely clever film that sets its
roots deep in the soil of its influences like the old
"Buck Rogers," "Superman" and "Flash Gordon" serials
from the 30's and 40's. Creator/director/scribe Kerry
Conran worked for years in front of his computer
putting together a six minute short of his vision of
the robot invasion of New York City. His work found
its way into the hands of producer Jon Avnet, $70
million was funded and Conran joined that small (but
growing) pantheon of filmmakers that meld live action
and CGI together. Shooting his principle cast in front
of blue screen, the director creates a comic book
vision of his computer-animated past/future world.
Tearing more than a few pages from the works of H.G.
Wells, Conran mixes the traditional settings and look
of the 1930's with a world that is rife with
futuristic robotic machines sent to destroy mankind.
At the bottom of this destruction is the sinister Dr.
Totenkopf – depicted with the photographed and
archival film visage of the late Laurence Olivier –
who has unleashed his mechanical minions upon the
innocent people of Planet Earth. The annihilation of
mankind seems assured until Sky Captain (Law), in his
trusty P-40 Tomahawk, takes on the destructive power
of Totenkopf and his machines – with the help of the
beautiful Polly.
I'm trying to think of another film that totally
eschews real sets and physical backdrops in favor of
an entirely computer-generated "set" for its actors.
None come readily to mind. Kerry Conran (with the $70
mil that producer Avnet procured) borrows liberally
from many sources, besides H.G. Wells, to create a
science fiction world that pays true homage to its
serial roots. As I watched "SCatWoT" I started to note
the film influences and references that abound. "War
of the Worlds," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "Iron
Giant," "Gulliver's Travels," "Forbidden Planet,"
"Star Wars," "King Kong," "Godzilla," "Metropolis,"
"The Matrix" and "The Wizard of Oz" all get shrift as
the story of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow"
unfolds.
Paying tribute to these great films is a nice thing
but detracts from story that centers "SCatWoT." The
vision that Conran works from is interesting and there
is certainly lots to look at. However, as the story
plays out, I was less than satisfied with the dialog
and direction of the veteran cast. Sure, this is comic
book stuff, but that doesn't mean that the actors
should be saddled with wooden dialog and
two-dimensional characters. Neither Gwyneth Paltrow
nor Jude Law are given roles that they can hang their
hats upon – they could have been replaced, like the
settings behind them, with CGI creations and we would
have missed nothing. The same goes for the rest of the
cast that includes Angelina Jolie as tough, one-eyed
Frankie Cook (the leader of the all-girl amphibious
attack squad), Giovanni Ribisi as Dex, the "brains" of
the film (it is a stretch), and Michael Gambon, nearly
invisible as Polly's editor, Morris Paley. Bai Ling is
speechless (literally) as the mysterious henchwoman
for the equally mysterious Dr. T. (Laurence Olivier
fared best as the enigmatic bad guy – but he's dead!)
One of the problems I have with "SCatWoT" dialog and
story is the blurring of history and the misuse of
terms. The story takes place in the fantastical world
of 1939 New York City – we know it is 1939 when Polly
goes to the Radio City Music Hall for a clandestine
meeting and "The Wizard of Oz" is playing on the big
screen. Presumably, Adolph Hitler has not started the
Second World War, yet, but several times characters
refer to the "First World War," rather than "The Great
War," as it would be known at the time. This is a
minor point, maybe, but common to the I'm-so-clever
nature of the script by Conran.
The real draw for the sci-fi fans is the CGI creation
of Sky Captain's World of Tomorrow – that name taken
directly from the title of the 1939 New York World's
Fair. And, I have to admit, in its sterile way it has
a goodly amount of technical eye candy to keep you
somewhat interested. This is a good thing as the
story, by the director, is lackluster and has few
surprises. You are visually challenged in watching
"SCatWoT" and all of its references but there is not a
lot to keep the mind occupied as the good guys jump
through their assigned hoops to stop the enigmatic bad
guys.
CGI fans will go see "Sky Captain and the World of
Tomorrow" regardless of what the critics think. This
critic applauds the technical effort by Kerry Conran
and company but I also wonder what it would have been
like in the hands of an experienced director and a
first-rate scripter. Instead of merely interesting, it
could have been great. I give it a C+.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
==========
X-RAMR-ID: 38633
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1320670
X-RT-TitleID: 1136138
X-RT-SourceID: 386
X-RT-AuthorID: 1488
X-RT-RatingText: C+
|
