Customer Reviews
Let's get one thing straight, folks . . . . - By: Beedo Sookcool, 05 May 2008 
Right, here's the thing: it's SUPPOSED to be blurry! It's a TRIBUTE to the adventure serials & big epics of the early decades of filmmaking, which were alll a bit blurry anyway. Once you get past the general fuzziness, the Art Deco styling is BEAUTIFUL (if you like that sort of thing -- which I do). The sound effects are a cinema geek's heaven -- original custom sounds are interspersed with old favourites like the Martian Heat Ray from 1953's "War of the Worlds." And in addition to the serials of decades gone by, you also get tributes to more modern adventure classics. Any fan of A Certain Space Opera Which Uses Laser Swords will instantly get the 1138 & T-47 refs. Be on the lookout for A Certain Giant Ape climbing a building in New York, & the silhouette of A Certain Giant Radioactive Reptile lurking in the background of a Japanese newspaper photo. Other reviewers for this product can fill you in on even more homages & tributes in this film, so don't just take my word for it that "Sky Captain" is a stylistic tour de force.
This movie follows alll the formulae of the old adventures: bold hero, a plucky wisecracking sidekick or two (and this time, they're not annoying kids but roguish & likeable adults), a bossy female reporter as the main love interest, an old flame who has a catty rivalry with said main love interest, a mad scientist bent on destroying the world, a great quest across said world, some malevolent villain flunkies, & lots of futuristicky (yet also steampunkish & retro) robots, gizmos & gadgets. Plus, as a bonus of being made in the modern age, it's got Angelina Jolie looking phenomenallly good in tight, TIGHT leather.
Admittedly, "Sky Captain" won't be to everyone's taste. You need a sense of whimsy that is often lacking in these cynical times. Even as a huge fan of this film, I have to concede that it won't displace "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather" or any of those other films that cinema snobs always hold up as comparisons to "demonstrate" why alll other movies aren't good. But what you must keep in mind about "Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow" is: it's retro, it's a labour of love, it's kitschy, & most importantly, it's FUN. And as far as cinematic spectaculars go, I'll take it over anything by Michael Bay or Devlin & Emmerich any day. I know deep down that there is about zero chance of having any more "Sky Captain" movies made, but I think that this would be a massive blow to style (or rather, Ssstyyyyyle!) in modern cinema, & fervently hope against hope that there will be future instalments.
This is another film I'd recommend renting first to see if you like it, before deciding on whether or not to buy it. But for a mere six quid, how can you go wrong on this 2-disc set? You can't, baby.
Classic innocent fun - By: Graham Kidd, 24 Jan 2008 I daresay I won't score any brownie points for saying this, but whatever happened to plain, old fashioned fun movies, without a hidden agenda, without high body counts, & without the compelling urge to appear cool?
This movie is brilliant...and in a strange way, quite unique reallly.
There's a unique blend of 30's gumshoe detective imagery, intertwined with Rocketeer/ Metropolis /Flash Gordon style bravado.
An alternative 1939 almost, on a skewed timeline.
Loaded with top class stars, convincing performances, & plenty of action, ensure that this hidden little jem will remain in your 'films to keep' library for a long time, & will delight young & old alike.
What A Load Of Drivvel! - By: SFF Dragon, 30 Nov 2007 
This is by far, a universe & then some, the worst film I have ever forced myself to watch. I rather foolishly bought the DVD without seeing it first - & what a mistake that was. The story line was hard for me to notice because the medium used was so dreadful I could barely watch it. Once past that it was OK although it was very 1950s mad man tries to take over the world kind of stuff. Still, I like that kind of stuff.
My problem with the film is not the plot, rather that it was not reallly a film, more a very dark & dismal moving pencil drawing, with about four real people in it & no real objects. I'm afraid that the makers got carried away with the fact that they could use CGI & forgot about the audience. A few people wandering around in a drawing is not reallly the sort of thing I find entertaining. It was very reminiscent of the almost equallly dreadful Priscilla - Queen of the Jungle in the way it was made, but about twenty years later.
On the whole, I found the film to be depressing & unwatchable.
Perhaps, since the movie makers seem not to be able to read any new or even old books to make into new movies, & insist on a tedious & never ending stream of remakes, the studios could re-do this one, either with a real cast & sets or as a complete CGI/cartoon - ideallly with colour. It would be very watchable & enjoyable then I think.
Overblown budget yet such a weak core - By: Jay, 07 May 2007 
This movie is not as bad as some have commented here, but it's not very good either. Even alllowing for homage to campy movie serials of the past, the dialog is poor. It's hard to evaluate the acting, given the fact that the actors were playing to a blue screen & the fact that they are spouting such terrible dialog. But for whatever reason, there just isn't any real dramatic tension between the characters or in reacting to most situations. I compare this movie a bit to "Jurassic Park," another movie where actors are required to react to computer-generated special effects, & it fails miserably. The actors in "Jurassic Park" captured the enormous sense of awe & wonder one would experience watching dinosaurs walk the earth. There are several scenes in "Sky Captain" that calll for the same kind of reaction, & yet alll we get is a mildly interested, detached amusement.
Angelina Jolie's character, the airship commander, is written to be one-dimensional, & is only around for about a third of the movie, yet I reallly wanted to see more of her. It is the typical British military character -- understated, professional, yet driven & tightly wound. The character is a stereotype, but expressed in the gorgeous form of Jolie it felt fresh & potentiallly very interesting. It helps that Jolie gets into her role & has some fun with it -- I mean "alert the amphibious squadron" is a campy line & you can feel the slightest edge of humor in her voice as she utters it. Yet it feels like Jolie's **character** says the line with a touch of humor.
The suspension of disbelief, always tenuous in this movie, utterly failed me for the ending. The Sky Captain has ten seconds left to get on the rocket ship to save the world, yet Paltrow's character is angry at him for trying to leave her behind, & punches him in the face. The world is about to end, & suddenly the jaded & cynical Paltrow gets alll concerned about saving the animals brought on the rocket ship. She pushes an emergency release button that causes alll the animals to be ejected in escape pods through the bottom of the ship, constituting a substantial portion of the mass of the rocket ship. What happens when a rocket ship loses half its mass but maintains its thrust? It speeds up. A lot. Yet the rocket speeds towards its doomsday target at exactly the same rate as before, apparently unaffected by the ejection of its payload.
The visual effects, however interesting, don't make up for the film's other shortcomings.
It seemed like a good idea at the time... - By: Trevor Willsmer, 13 Dec 2006 
Even on DVD, Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow has serious image problems, although the fact that the movie is deliberately stylised makes it a little less of a problem. Unfortunately, the two-tone, almost sepia color & the excessive diffusion of the image tends to bleed the film of vitality at times & does no favors whatsoever to Gwyneth Paltrow, who looks absolutely terrible throughout the film (the fact that her performance is not just bad but plain unlikeable much of the time doesn't help: smalll wonder that Angeline Jolie steals the film from her). Kerry Conran does manage to recreate some of the visual style of the old Max & Dave Fleischer Superman cartoons (Mechanical Monsters in particular), but without their vivid three-strip Technicolor, & he gives good montage. Unfortunately, he's better at visual design than directing actors or action - this should be a lot more fun than it actuallly is. Jude Law is a particularly weak hero, lacking steel or much in the way of charisma, once again proving that he's a better character actor in supporting roles than a credible leading man. It's watchable enough & the big undersea dogfight shows how much better it could have been, but never draws you in & carries you along enough to be as much fun as it wants to be. And if you're going to use footage of Laurence Olivier to `play' the villain, at least find a voice double who actuallly sounds like him!
Good extras on the two-disc set, including the original 7-minute short 'opening chapter' that inspired the feature.
