Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5199 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Synopsis
In writer-director Kerry Conran's debut film, ace pilot Joe Sky Captain Sullivan (Jude Law) reluctantly teams up with his former flame, journalist Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), to uncover the mystery behind a group of missing scientists and a series of shocking robot attacks. Aided by gadgetry whiz Dex Dearborn (Giovanni Ribisi) and enigmatic military commander Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie), Joe and Polly must find out who is responsible for an increasingly elaborate scheme that may trigger the end of the world. A highly stylized, mostly computer-generated spectacle, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW is a striking cinematic achievement. Steeped in the marvelous visuals of 1930s pop culture, Conran's movie is a loving tribute to that era, featuring clever nods to FLASH GORDON, BUCK ROGERS, and other adventure serials of the time. Beginning in a gloriously slate-gray, towering New York City, this movie follows its heroes from one intriguing locale to the next. Although the remarkable images of the film threaten to eclipse the characters at times, SKY CAPTAIN is very well cast, with the actors pitch-perfect for their respective roles, particularly the luminous Paltrow and the brainy Ribisi. And yet the stunning retro-futuristic design is always at the fore, making for a wonderfully unique movie.

Customer Reviews

The incredible shrunken plot
This is one weird movie!

It had me thinking of other movies all the way through its non-stop, impossible and blatantly obvious CGI sequences, and I can't for the life of me work out how so little plot took up so much time and led to so much destruction.

As per so many action movies, New York takes an early hit, this time by the super-sized cast of "I, Robot", while the perpetually pretty Jude Law is an indestructable Indiana Jones in a James Bond type airplane. Gwyneth Paltrow does her Lois Lane thing beautifully, and her camera fixation was one of the funniest things about the movie.

Giovanni Ribisi was the requisite movie genius crossed with a little Q, and I was pleased to see him playing a different role this time around. The feeble old scientists stepped right out of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", and there are countless other movies where the hero debates the eternal question, "Which wire to cut?"

Some other movies triggered were "The Island of Dr. Moreau", "Jurassic Park", "Matrix", and "Lara Croft Tomb Raider", as well as a certain wet biblical event.

My major disappointment was that there was no humongous altercation (read "huge catfight") between Bai Ling and Angelina Jolie. What a waste of two happening action actresses. Also, I like Jude Law - okay, I love Jude Law, but I think he wasn't right for this role

Anyway, being a person who is always willing to suspend all belief and logic for a good action movie, I found this one very entertaining, albeit a little short on Jolie.

Amanda Richards

Only two shots left
This is a 2004 view of what a 1930's view of the future could look like. Most of the CGI and blue-screen overlays had to be a tad fuzzy to make the scenes work. The language may be a tad stilted but it also is designed to be a thirties movie rendition.

Seems that somewhere towards the end of the last war a brilliant scientist with a vision disappeared and the whole Group 11 project was disbanded. Today top scientists are going missing and it is up to Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) reporter-photographer to find the reason. Mean while it looks as though a destructive minus is ravaging the city (looking for something) and the only person capable of foiling the evil plot is, you guessed it, Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan (Jude Law, of "GATTACA" fame).

Eventually Joe runs out of gas and only Franky (Angelina Jolie) can save him if there is time. Meanwhile Polly finds that her camera has only two shots left; can she make the best of them?

How can this daring duo and their pals foil the nefarious plot that may prove fatal to the world as we know it?

Like a Flash Gordon/Dan Dare comic - fantastic
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow shows science fiction take a step backwards and look at the vision that was held in the 50s: tough handsome heroes, beautiful cunning damsels, giant robots and the implacably evil bad guy. Though for all its old-fashioned routes the film represents the apex of computer generated images, from the huge robots to the scenery itself.

Polly Perkins is a confident and fiesty journalist on the trail of a hot story, and doesn't care where she ends up to get it. Sky Captain is an international hero/mercenary who will fight to the end to save the world. Classical stuff.

The storyline is fairly typical: mad scientist hellbent on destroying the world, and Polly and Sky Captain's efforts to stop him. The film is fairly low on plot as much of what happens is fairly predictable, but not boringly slow. On the other hand the visuals are first rate, some superb action/attack sequences.

This film is not in any way to be taken seriously. It is very far-fetched and sometimes very silly, but enjoyably so. If you enjoy science fiction but don't mind when the film isn't as series as a dental exam, you will love this!