Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Why so much hype?

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

A different way of telling a story

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

I have always like two genres of movies better than all other genres (Historical Fiction/Drama & Sci Fi adventures). So it come to reason that I'd was interested in this one from the first time that I saw the previews.Then I seen it and discovered that this was more of a concept film than anything. ......And to be frank with you the concept doesn't sell! ! ! The movie takes place in a type of Neo-Futuristic landscape based on the 1930's. I though the story was actually good. and the acting was actually good. The musical score was actually good. but the fantasy- ish pulp fictionized comic book look of the film actual made it hard to watch.(at least it did for me) This film is worth watch one time ....it not going to become an instant sci-fi classic with you. Nor will this film generate enough interest that you'd want to see a sequel(trust me, If they make a sequel I will not bother to see it)This film will never rival/compete with other sci-fi films like the Star Wars, Alien(s), Starship Troopers, Matrix,Star Trek and other franchises seem to produce every time out.I'm giving it 4 out of 10 stars (And I'm only going that high with it because the acting & musical score are good)

A successful homage to the great adventure and fantasy movies of the 1930's and 40's. The visuals reach artistic perfection, moving smoothly and seamlessly from a black-and-white to a sepia palette and back. (Or perhaps I should say "pseudo black-and-white" and "pseudo sepia", as there are clever touches of a more icy or a more naturalistic color scheme.) The visuals are not only beautiful, inventive and evocative, they are also well suited to the material, resulting in an excellent marriage of style and plot.Paltrow, Law and Jolie possess just the right kind of matinée idol looks, artfully accentuated by some very flattering costumes. Do you want to see miniature elephants, doomsday machines, giant robots, submersible airplanes and amazon fighter pilots ? Do you want to hear tales of ungodly experiments and A Knowledge Man Was Not Meant To Pursue ? Do you want to travel through snow-covered Lands Of Mystery ? Yes, YES, yes ! YES ! Of course you do - admit it !

When a series of scientists start disappearing and the city of New York gets attacked by an army of futuristic robots, a very curious reporter and a famous pilot team up to find the source of the problems which seem to point in the same direction. Thus, an intense, full of action search commences, in a desperate attempt to ultimately save the word from imminent destruction.It's a beautifully filmed action movie, which puts the viewer into the middle of an old New York, where supernatural phenomenon seems to occur. Its artistic approach creates a wonderful and catchy atmosphere which lasts the entire movie, while its actors contribute in a pleasant and funny way to this bloomy action. Unfortunately, this is where the good parts end. The plot is very simplistic, linear and predictable, and to make matters worse, the movie is full of clichés which you simply cannot ignore. Their usage does not represent a tragedy, but when you exaggerate, like this film does, it becomes a bit disturbing for the viewer. While most CGI is well executed and a pleasure to look at, the producers seemed to omit a couple of sequences, which are choppy at best.The overall impression is that the movie wasn't taking itself seriously, fact which could have represented an advantage if you ask me. To sum things up, it's beautifully filmed, well played, but with a below average plot which drags the whole thing down.

One of my favorite guilty film pleasures. It's a 1940's comic strip brought-to-life by a producer with very little success, other than this film. Shot entirely inside of a green-screen computer environment, no real sets to speak of. (Just platforms and such.) Yet, it travels all over the world, and quite convincingly, I might add. Staring Jude Law (Sky Capt.) Gweneth Paltrow (Polly-The Reporter) and Angelina Jolie ("Frankie"). She is truly amazing, although she appears late in the movie. She plays a one-eyed British Commander. A super-woman who oversees a flying armada-in-the sky. Oh yes, she flies like a "Flash Gordon rocketeer". (She commands combat planes, battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines, and special forces.) As the Muppets once quipped, they "travel by map" and end up in Tibet and Shanghai-La. It plays homage to every great sci-fi film you have ever seen, as well as the 1940's Superman Max Fleischer cartoons. There are giant robots, mechanical monsters, The Hindenburg, images of Fritz Langs' masterpiece "Metropolis". It might even remind you of "King Kong". Laurence Olivier appears like a projected image from "The Wizard of Oz". He is a now-deceased genius behind a plot to save all the animals yet destroy the planet Earth. Some critics pointed out the many "goofs" but I believe some of it was intentionally tongue in-cheek, at times. Roger Ebert gave it four stars and Leonard Maltin hated it. As much a thrill-ride as any of the "Indiana Jones" or "Star Wars" outings. I wish it had been more successful in its time. (2004) My only regret is that I never got to see it on a large screen. Also on Blu-Ray.