‘Sky Captain’ soars

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

I don’t remember my initial reactions to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or the first three Star Wars movies, by which I mean Episodes 4-6. I’ve seen them many times and at many different ages, so they probably meant different things to me at different times. I was reminded of those movies though as I watched “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” and I left the theater as energized as a little kid. I loved so much of the movie that I hardly know where to begin and I can’t wait to see it again.

The story focuses on a mad scientist, Dr. Totenkopf, who has created robots that have been terrorizing cities around the world and stealing a varied assortment of materials. Reporter Polly Perkins, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, stumbles on to the story and her former boyfriend, Joe “Sky Captain” Sullivan, saves her from the robots and gets involved in the story as well, after his secret air base is attacked and his best friend, Dex, is kidnapped. In addition to gigantic robots and futuristic looking aircraft, the movie features trips to Shangri-La, underwater ruins and an island full of monsters, as well as a stop on top of a flying fortress and a ride on a rocket ship.

Writer-director Kerry Conran packed on the action and visual excitement and created a rollicking theatrical adventure. Though only time will tell, “Sky Captain” seems as if it will put Conran alongside such greats as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. One can not help but be in awe of someone with such a wonderful imagination, especially one who is able to transfer those magical images to the screen as well as Conran has.

By now everyone should know that with the exception of several props and the actors, everything in the film is computer generated. The entire movie was shot against a blue screen, but there were times where I thought that some of the scenes had to be shot on location. While the early shots of the film set in late 1930s New York took a little getting used to, once Sky Captain swoops in to do battle with the robots, the audience should be hooked. The aeronautical battles were incredible and the varied look of the robots and the numerous vehicles seemed to continuously top themselves as the movie went along.

Jude Law made a dashing hero, one that would have been popular in any era of film and Paltrow’s performance got stronger as the film roared along at a fever pace. My only complaint is that there was not enough of Angelina Jolie’s Commander Frankie Cook, a tough as nails British fighter pilot with a history connected to Sky Captain. There is so much going on in the background of the film, both aurally and visually, that multiple viewings over time are almost a necessity.

Perhaps it is because I have watched two really poor movies in the past two weeks, but “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” felt like a breath of fresh air. It is exactly the type of film that used to pack theaters every summer and have the world united behind it. I hope George Lucas can take some time off from the post-production of the final “Star Wars” film to see the type of movie he used to so effortlessly create; one with plenty of fantasy, heart and humor.

“Sky Captain” is sure to earn numerous Academy Awards in the technical categories and it deserves every one of them. I wouldn’t want to see every movie made in front of a blue screen, but I would love it if more movies were this much fun.

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