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September 21, 2004

Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow

While I wasn't going to remake my site as an homage to the film, I was looking forward to Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. Granted, previews can make just about anything look good, but this seemed to offer more than just an attractive picture. So I was quite pleased when we found ourselves done early yesterday, giving us a chance to catch the film.

I'll give credit where it's due: the movie is a thing of beauty. I'm not just talking about Gwyneth Paltrow, either, although she is quite stunning as reporter Polly Perkins. The film has the look and feel of an old movie, something perhaps from the early 1940s. You wouldn't be surprised to see Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman making a cameo here. The entire film is a lush panoply of nostalgic imagery, with each scene a visual masterpiece.

Paltrow, meanwhile, is artfully paired with Jude Law as the eponymous Sky Captain, Polly's former beau and current verbal sparring partner and meal ticket. The chemistry between Law and Paltrow is excellent, as they match wits continuously throughout the film regardless of their surroundings. Angelina Jolie is entertaining as well, but very underutilized, and Giovanni Ribisi is fun as the stereotypical engineering genius.

Sadly, after having spent all that money of special effects and a solid cast, apparently nobody bothered to pay good money for a script. The story is balanced somewhere between hokey and plebian, with the climax dropping all the way to just-plain-awful. After a decent buildup early in the film, the viewer is tumbled unceremoniously back to Earth with the realization that, yes, that really was all there was. If you're like me, you'll leave the theater still stunned, amazed at the ability of the filmmakers to take such appetizing ingredients and still produce a meal neither tasty nor nutritious. It's a shame, too, as the film clearly had the potential to soar.