Criminally ignored, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow generated some deserved buzz over the unique effects style and then seemingly disappeared. It's one of those movies the critics and audiences alike didn't seem to "get." That’s a travesty.
To call Sky Captain shallow or without substance is missing the point entirely for a plethora of reasons. It's a direct spin-off of the serials of old, none of which were entirely deep or involving. They existed solely to enthrall their audiences with crazy scenarios, especially those of a sci-fi nature. That's the reasoning behind the existence of this film, something viewers failed to grasp.
The unique look must have kept people away too. Again, the public missed the point. It's not supposed to look real, but fantastic. Needless to say, you have never seen anything like Sky Captain. The style is a perfect throwback with paper montages (look for Godzilla) and that "foggy" look is purely intentional, not a cover for the massive amount of special effects.
There's obviously a deep passion for the inspiration here. The filmmakers consistently tip their hats to those films, icons, and comics that came before it. It's a movie that needs to be watched numerous times to catch it all. It's not just seen in little snippets either. Guns, planes, rocket ships, sound effects, dialogue, credit sequences, almost all of it comes from either serials or films. It's not fair to call it unoriginal. It's more of a re-imagining and a tribute.
The actors do fine, even if they take an obvious back seat to the visual aura the film provides. Jude Law fits into the film as the lead, while Gwyneth Paltrow's character sort of exists to do little more than provide some brief moments of comedy (including a running joke about the film in her camera). Giovanni Ribisi plays the second string hero, giving the heroes what they need to make it to their final destination before popping in again to save the day during the closing moments.
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Article comments
1 - SkyCaptainFan
I love pretty much every frame of Sky Captain (watched it many times on DVD). There is such genuine innocence there. Though I never grew up with the old-time serials, I still got what Conran & co. were trying to do. It's a mystery to me why other people didn't. No sequel or prequel to Sky Captain?