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Movies / On DVD / Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

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Reviews Counted:197

Fresh:142

Rotten:55

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is slim on plot and characterization, but the visuals more than make up for it.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

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... 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. [More]

Starring: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi

Starring: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Bai Ling, Michael Gambon

Director: Kerry Conran

Director: Kerry Conran
Screenwriter: Kerry Conran
Producer: Sadie Frost, Jon Avnet
Composer: Edward Shearmur
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Reviews for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat
2/5

William Thomas

For its writer-director, Sky Captain was a labour of love. For almost everyone else -- including the wooden cast -- it’s just a labour.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 01 2006 03:35 AM

Empire Magazine

splat

Wally Hammond

The clincher is how the actors are reduced to puppets and ciphers; Paltrow straight-jacketed in her Hildy Johnson-style two-piece and the evidently bored Law reduced throughout half the movie to giving the gimlet eye through flying goggles.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 09 2006 03:16 AM

Time Out

splat

Ben Walters

The picture seems reverse-engineered, as if, having conceived his spectacular milieu, Conran created monsters to populate it, then heroes for them to fight, then reasons for the heroes to be there, with emotional plausibility some way behind that.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 02 2004 10:16 PM

Sight and Sound

tomato
4/5

Matthew Turner

Exciting, beautifully designed, retro adventure flick that’s a treat for fans of old movies and pulpy sci-fi serials.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 06 2004 07:26 PM

ViewLondon

splat
3/5

Neil Smith

Alas, the finest technology money can buy can't disguise basic flaws in plotting and structure, and flatly written, blandly heroic protagonists.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 06 2004 07:26 PM

BBC

tomato
4.5/5

Rich Cline

A wonderful blend of sharp characters with running gags galore, outrageously inspired visual imagery and a plotline that feels both familiar and otherworldly.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 19 2004 04:08 AM

Shadows on the Wall

tomato

Daniel Etherington

Fabulous stuff. Technologically fascinating, earnestly enjoyable and rewarding in its sincere sense of homage to earlier fiction and design.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 20 2004 05:11 PM

Channel 4 Film

N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM

Cinema Crazed

splat
C-

Cole Smithey

"Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow" is a war movie without subtext. Its deliberate lack of moral coding and pandering effort to please audiences with a vintage cotton candy pulp that never was is more than a little insulting. At least it has Angelina

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 18 2009 06:40 PM

ColeSmithey.com

splat

Steve Biodrowski

What made anyone believe this was a movie worth making or that there would be an audience for it?

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 17 2009 01:15 PM

Cinefantastique

N/R

Urban Cinefile Critics

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 09:00 AM

Urban Cinefile

tomato
4/5

Mark Halverson

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 03:17 AM

Sacramento News & Review

splat
2/5

Rob Gonsalves

If there's any sensibility within the film other than a voracious geeky adoration of cliffhangers, I wasn't able to locate it.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 31 2007 04:36 PM

eFilmCritic.com

splat
2.5/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 06:34 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

tomato

J. R. Jones

This debut feature by Kerry Conran is a triumph not only for its technical mastery but for its good taste.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 08 2007 05:12 PM

Chicago Reader

tomato

Prairie Miller

It's the story that gets in the wayof this magic show, coasting along a much more awkward path that finally hardly seems to matter.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 31 2007 04:23 PM

Long Island Press

tomato
3.5/4

Todd Hertz

Director Kerry Conran hasn't just mimicked his favorite serials and comic books. He's written a love letter to the full scope of 1930s and '40s films by basically making one.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 11 2006 02:07 PM

Christianity Today

tomato
3/4

Jay Antani

the visuals are phenomenal, rendered with so much love and passion that each frame is a marvel just to behold.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 20 2006 04:07 PM

Perihelion Journal

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 17 2006 03:15 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

tomato
3.5/5

Pete Vonder Haar

Occasionally threatens to collapse under the weight of its own production, but all in all it's an exhilarating experience, and raises the bar for the use of digital technology in film.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:43 PM

Film Threat

 
 
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Latest News for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

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