Apr 05, 2007 07:52 PM
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This is a rip-roaring homage to the serial short films of Buster Crab, Flash Gordon, and all those Saturday Morning films that folks from my generation went to.
Believe it or not, I used to go to the local movie theaters Saturday mornings, and for 6 Pepsi Bottle caps and .50 cents was admitted to watch another installment of Flash Gordon. This film brings back memories of those days and the entire romantic adventuresome they held.
Director Kerry Conran created this feature-length film from a short film that he created from a computer graphics program, a short he slaved away on for 6 years!
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is very much in the same vein of these old sci-fi movies, and comics from the Fifties, and the outrageousness and good-fun humor comes through.
The film set in New York City sometime in a stylized world of the 1940s, with newspaper reporter Polly Perkins(Gwyneth Paltrow) investigating the disappearance of the world's top scientists. As she surreptitiously meets with one of the scientists who gives her the name Dr. Totenkopf as the culprit behind the disappearing scientists, she is sidetracked by invasion of Earth from another planet with morphing flying robots that shoot laser rays out of their skulls and crush people and property under their enormous feet. As Polly runs along the streets trying to get more reportage information Sky Captain(Jude Law) appears in his flying spitfire airplane equipped with amazing high-tech special modifications to fight the monsters. It turns out that Polly and Sky have a back-story and some harbored ill feelings come out when Polly confronts Sky to get more info for her paper. As they investigate together, they uncover a'doomsday machine' Totenkopf has created. After another attack from another group of flying robots, Dex(Giovanni Ribisi), Sky Captain's genius technician goes missing, but not before leaving a clue behind for the duo to follow. Franky Cook(Angelina Jolie), the commander of a flying battle station uses her squadron of flying/swimming airplanes to aid Sky and Polly in breaking through to the evil Totenkopf's hideout. After many obstacles the two finally reach the evil Doctor's lair, and upon their arrival is the discovery of the strange existence of the man and the machines that do his bidding. They also realize he has put a plan in motion to eminently destroy the planet, and they must act to prevent this.
The graphic computer-generated effects are the real stars in this movie. Although we can imagine what George Lucas would do with this sort of story, the feature stands out for its consistent use of green-screen photography.
Hats off to the actors Law, Paltrow, and especially Rabissi, and Jolie because they allow us to believe that they inhabit the sci-fi world in the film.
Acting with green screen is a difficult task because it requires that the actors in a scene respond to a plain green screen while imagining that it is another character, or environment. It's exciting to watch and fun for producers because it gives them more control on filling in background or other pieces of scenery or characters.
The Robert Rodriguez feature Sin City was created entirely with green-screen photography, and live actors, to great effect.
Kerry Conran goes a step further by using a computer-generated image of an actor as Totenkopf- it's a bold use of technology and one that may seem disheartening to coming actors.
Sky Captain has as a featurette the making of the film, which I think is fascinating in understanding the future of filmmaking. I believe that more and more producers will resort to green-screen processing because it save them money for set-building and offers them a world of control. This process is as innovating today as filmmaking itself was at the turn of the century.
The film is a grand spectacle that astounds and distresses alternately. The film is visually sumptuous and something we don't see that often but some of the shots seem just pasted in to support the acting.
First-time director Kerry Conran probably attached Jude Law and Gwyenth Paltrow early in the production in order to raise funds for the film, and there are times when we might think he could have cast better.
Jude Law has a sinewy masculinity that plays well against the self-assured tough-broad character that Paltrow puts into motion, but he seems too milquetoast at times to have the verve to carry through what it takes to save the planet.
Giovanni Ribisi can sometimes overplay his hand in characterization, but in this case he plays the subtle interior qualities that work well in the gee-whiz atmosphere of the world of the film. A smart choice since he is competing with the outrageous computer-generated effects of the movie, his playing more on his real-ness allows him to stand out against the whirlwind of action in the film.
Angelina Jolie, presents us with a British toughness that matches Paltrow's reporters edge, and viewers must find it charming that the women exhibit more backbone that the tech-minded men in the film.
It's not a perfect script and the film tends to sag, plot-wise after the opening reel. Clearly there needs to be a major complication halfway through in order for us to stick for the story and not just be awed by the visual effects.
No one can deny that this is a darn good first feature from a writer/director who essentially has been creating movies on his Mac computer up to this point.
This is the wave of the future. More films will be creating their world with computer programs and actors will be further challenged by the need to learn acting technique for green-screen productions.
Frankly I feel that, considering the ROI ratio, Conran creates a movie as good as or perhaps better that Hollywood heavyweights like Robert Rodriguez and his sin City trilogy and Frank Miller and his feature 300.
More movies are going to be shot on Digital Video in studios and cut in living rooms on IMacs as we move forward.
Check out Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - it's a cool PG-rated sci-fi trip. Be sure to check out the features on the DVD that tell how the director made his film on his computer and also shows the short'student' film that stated it all.
I got my excellent copy for$1.89 from half.com, and enjoyed it with Kashi TLC Cherry Dark Chocolate granola Bars, and Craisins.
