Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

“I sabotaged your plane.”

2004’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow didn’t grab my attention when it was first released. I thought that the look of the film in the movie trailer was cool but felt that it was going to be just another “style over substance” flick using CGI, big name actors, and a nostalgic look. I was right. This film was a mess. Parts of it were pure brilliance but the bulk of the movie was a boring, CGI-laden, soft-focused train wreck.

You’d think that a film featuring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi, and Angelina Jolie would have some punch to it, but this film just plodded along from one CGI sequence to the next with a plot that was thinner than most of the serials and pulp novels that the film looked to for inspiration. There was so much potential with this film and it totally missed the mark.

In the film, someone is hunting down scientists who either end up missing or dead as a result of the villain’s actions. Reporter Polly Perkins gets the inside scoop on what’s going down while secretly visiting with one of the scientists who is on the hit list. When a gaggle of giant robots attack New York City, “Sky Captain” Joe Sullivan swoops in to save the day and the girl, Polly. Sky Captain takes one of the robots to his secret base where his tech genius, Dex, manages to discover the location of the villain’s secret lair right before he is captured and taken prisoner by the villain’s mysterious assassin. From that point on, Sky Captain and Polly go on a quest to find the villain and stop his plans to to star a new “world of tomorrow” using his rocket ship loaded with animals and two key vials that he has been trying to track down. Will they stop the evil genius before he destroys humanity? If you can make it through the rest of Sky Captain, you’ll find out!

I really wanted to like this film. It’s based on some of my favorite things, pulp novels, serials, and the Max Fleischer classic Superman cartoons. It even has a number of wonderful Easter eggs for fans of these classic films and books. Despite this, the film just does not connect with me. While I was watching it, all I could see in my mind was director/writer Kerry Conran saying, “Look what I can do!” with each uninspired CGI sequence. To top it all off, Gwyneth Paltrow was horrible in this film. I am assuming that she was trying to emulate classic serial damsels and divas like Louise Currie, Veda Ann Borg, Noel Neill, and Linda Stirling. Instead, she came off as overly annoying with a wooden delivery.

The rest of the cast did a lot better than Paltrow, who portrayed Polly Perkins. Jude Law starred as Joe Sullivan, Giovanni Ribisi had a small but important role as Dex, and Bai Ling did a fine job as the silent assassin billed as the Mysterious Woman. Granted, all she had to do was jump around and fight Jude Law for a bit, but she gave a much better performance than Paltrow. Angelina Jolie’s role as Franky Cook was brief but fun. Also of note is Omid Djalili as Kaji, one of the Sky Captain’s old friends who helps him and Polly.

The majority of the film focuses on the relationship between Sullivan and Polly. Sadly this meant that the strongest and weakest performances in the film were front and center at all times.

I always try to be positive about the films that I view, but Sky Captain was just too bad for me to really enjoy. It’s too slick to be nostalgic like the old serials that it hopes to be like and too boring to hold my interest. Couple that with the worst performance that I’ve ever witnessed by Gwyneth Paltrow and I have to say skipping this film isn’t a bad idea. I wanted it to be good, but it fails on too many levels for me to recommend it. Instead, check out the Blackhawk serial or King of the Rocket Men. Both are superior to Sky Captain. If you’re looking for something more recent to watch, check out the tried and true The Rocketeer.

I know that many fans of the old serials loved Sky Captain, but it’s just not for me. I will admit that I enjoyed some of the humor in the film and the cast outside of Paltrow was solid, but that wasn’t enough to win me over. Thanks for reading my post. I have three special posts coming up next week!