Kenny Conran has made his debut and made yet another Star Wars, or Star Wars, episode of sorts. But he didn't choose a galaxy far, far away and a long time ago, but he chose Earth and the time after World War I, when there was a lot of industrialization and interesting movies were being made at the time.
To make Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, he chose digital technology. That is, live actors and computer-generated backgrounds. He managed to do it quite well, creating some pretty good environments, a 1930s city, the Himalayas, a technical factory and more ... He was quite successful in putting the actors into this computer architecture.
He also managed to guide the actors to good performances, so there was no dead space between the actors and the computer. Also, thanks to good direction, the actors don't just act blindly, but are well instructed on where the right object will be placed.
When you notice the overall picture of the film, it's been digitally manipulated well enough to make its reference to 1930s films stand out. And so the image has been bleached and hand-colored to look like it was shot at that time. The actors were also lit in a similar way to make everything blend in. Of course, even the computer-generated objects were designed to look like the designs of almost a hundred years ago. No high tech, no computers, but all electrons, all radio waves and of course robots without complex elements, preferably wheels, propellers and the old familiar electricity.
But so that my review is not just about praising the director, I'll write a bit about the actors as well. Oscar-winning Gwyneth Paltrow is back in the limelight again, after a couple of weak films in which she didn't use her acting strengths at all. Her portrayal of journalist Polly Perkins is quite sympathetic. She throws herself into the action with a journalist's flair and is always in the right place.
Jude Law as Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan is also a pretty likable pilot who has a history, He and Polly have a pretty good history, they dated, they hated each other and now they're throwing themselves into journalistic action because they want to find Dr Totenkopf, who is behind the robots invading major cities and, as we later find out, even wants to destroy the world.
Adding to the whole duo is Marine Franky Cook, played by Angelina Jolie, who sadly can't do much more than the old familiar Lara Croft.
What else can be written about this film? Conclusion? Well, it's such a normal movie that doesn't play on anything, it's made with progressive technology in the style of the 30s with references to films and works of history. A film that could be considered as Star Wars of the 30s, where even the little people of Earth can save the world.
Original release of this article November 10, 2004 – Kritiky.cz
