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*** Official SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

Jason Adams

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Roger Jason Adams
Didn't the plot sort of remind you of Moonraker? A crazy, rich man who is technologically advanced, wants to kill human life, but preserve the animal population. Though MR's plot was better in that Hugo Drax had nerve gas to kill off humans, except for a few talented individuals launched on a rocket to a massive space station, who will later repopulate the Earth, yet keep alive animals and their habitats, while Sky Captain takes 2 of each animal onto a rocket (going where?)while blowing up the Earth. MR's plot makes more sense. I would go as so far to say that the way the plot unfolds is very reminicent of Moonraker. Sky Captain, Polly and Bond find bits and pieces of the plot to connect it all together again.



Other then that observation...I thought the movie was ok. But it really didnt pick up until Jolie entered the picture. The banter was cute. IMO, the movie is more memorable for its visuals then its characters.
 

Michael Harris

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Saw it last night and overall I enjoyed it. I agree with most of the points raised in the posts above about the acting and the plot. The film was a triumph of style over substance but I don't mind that. It was its "look" that drew me to the theater in the first place. I like that retro futuristic art deco look.



Of the four main characters, only Ribisi and, to a lesser extent Jolie, seemed to have fun with their parts. Jude Law seemed a bit stiff and Paltrow a bit out of place though she did capture that 30's look perfectly and some of her facial expressions sitting in the back of the P-40 were wonderful. As Ebert alluded in his four star review a more seasoned director could have handled the material and actors with a defter hand.



I will give kudos to Jude Law for backing this film. I'll be curious to see the box office for Sky Captain given how the reviews were all over the place (72% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes).
 

Tony_Ramos

Second Unit
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quote:Felix said:

What did they expect they were going to get out of a movie called "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow?"




I'll tell you waht I was expecting: more fun. Period. The plane ride through the city may have been the most fun part of the movie. Everything else was just like watching a cartoon. Maybe it was intentional, but I grew out of cartoons a long time ago.



And no, the ppl walking out weren't the WalMart crowd, they were affluent college students, meaning the most educated demographic in America. I was tempted to join them. Jude and Gwyneth were the only thing that kept me there, and then only barely.



quote:Michael Harris said: The film was a triumph of style over substance




finally someone I can agree with. the movie was all about style. The film didn't create tension, you barely knew the characters, the fights were over way too quickly and too easily, etc.





The point about this being just like AOTC is at least AOTC feels epic and you can imagine things happening off-screen. The same can't be said of this movie, b/c it didn't live up to its potential.

I can't help but wonder if this is film aficionados pretending that the film was better than it was b/c it reminds them of something else from their childhood, etc.
 

Mikel_Cooperman

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quote: I guess everybody has different taste, but I laugh when I hear that people thought Jolie's performance in this movie rocked or blew them away.




She didnt blow me away but I thought she was the best part of the film.





quote: And no, the ppl walking out weren't the WalMart crowd, they were affluent college students, meaning the most educated demographic in America.




How can you enjoy movie when you are looking for people to leave. Sounds like you were looking to have a bad time and you did.



I tend to think that people arent used to this type of story or visual style and would rather have sub par entertainment fed to them in the vane of the last two Star Wars movie than something that has at least tried to be Different. It may not have have been successful in every frame but I tend to think this first time Director gave it his all whereas Lucas has been on Auto pilot for a decade.
 

Chris Harvey

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quote:I tend to think that people arent used to this type of story or visual style and would rather have sub par entertainment fed to them in the vane of the last two Star Wars movie than something that has at least tried to be Different.




That's a bit harsh. I could easily say that people are too easily wowed by neato visuals and are happy to accept a cut-rate story, lame plot, and dumb characters and dialogue.
 

Chris Atkins

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Again, I was entertained by the movie. The director wanted you to have fun in the theater while watching it. It was an homage to older action serials, including the acting styles, etc. It's clearly a "hey, look at that!" kind of film, not a serious breakdown of time-honored values using plot and character.
 

Tony_Ramos

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LOL Chris, I concur. I really didn't notice a plot or action or suspense or fun factor on par with what these reviewers are talking about. The argument that this film somehow had originality to spare was ridiculous.





And it's hard not to notice couples leaving when you're in an unusually empty movie theater for a friday night. I went into the movie with hopeful but tempered expectations, especially after reading Harry Knowles' review, whom I usually agree with. Trust me, I'm the first to look for good in a movie.
 

Ocean Phoenix

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quote:I could easily say that people are too easily wowed by neato visuals and are happy to accept a cut-rate story, lame plot, and dumb characters and dialogue.




A great description for Lord Of The Rings. That's right, I went there.
biggrin.gif
 

Tony_Ramos

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Oh no you didn't! (my finger and chin wave in unison, Jerry Springer style) ;p



Really tho, the difference is, Lord of the Rings had better directing, better scoring, better acting, better effects, and better developed characters, except for Gimli, who approximates Sky Captain's characters
smile.gif
Also, LOTR had a heart and a message, this film is more about love of a style.
 

Mikel_Cooperman

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It did have a lot of style and what's wrong with that? You don't think Star Wars was a throwback to old serials of the 30's and 40's??? Same with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Only difference is this was a lot more fun then Lucas's latest, which were empty at the core.



Not a bad first film if you ask me. Here's hoping he'll grow as a filmaker and script writer. Time will tell. Unfortunately Lucas never did as we can see from his last two movies.
 

Chris Atkins

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I guess what I'm trying to say is, a movie doesn't have to have good acting or well written dialogue to be enjoyable. This is especially true when a filmmaker is intending to tell a story with visuals/action and not through dialogue. When a film succeeds with visuals like SKY CAPTAIN (and, I would add, also like TPM and AOTC and the OT itself) you can look past some wooden dialogue and just have fun and take what the filmmaker offers you.



I'm not downplaying a criticism of a film based on its technical merits. But when a film is so obviously trying to frame a story visually, you don't have to let some clunky dialogue get in the way.
 

Chris Harvey

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I guess the difference is I'd like a movie to be more than simply visuals. In the case of RAIDERS, the SW:OT, and a host of lesser films (including THE ROCKETEER and THE SHADOW) I see considerably more effort made to create characters and story. With SKY CAPTAIN, I see nothing but a pastiche of homages -- which to me is fun for a brief while but, barring other contributions, certainly doesn't sustain itself over the length of a feature.
 

Steve Felix

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Top Hat is one of my favorite movies but I don't go to it for substantial plot and character. What it has are currents of optimism and grace that don't exist in reality, but are a model to hope and reach for.

To say that Sky Captain has good visuals and nothing else is fine, but what is a good visual? Not something that is merely pretty, but something with content (not necessarily narrative). Art Deco is about confidence in the future and the human ingenuity that gets us there. It's hopeful -- hopeful for the false god of consumerism, perhaps, but also for scientific achievement and the potential of our race.

That sounds pretty grandiose but I submit that it's why someone might be heard to say that "Sky Captain causes happiness."

Edit: that last line refers to Jason Seaver's post early in the thread
 

Quentin

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quote:That sounds pretty grandiose but I submit that it's why someone might be heard to say that "Sky Captain causes happiness."




Errrr...whatever you say, dude!
smile.gif




Put me in the "give me a story and characters to care about" camp. "Dick Tracy" has cool visuals and homage, so does "Batman", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star Wars: A New Hope", "The Shadow", "Rocketeer" and a handful of others. All movies I liked a lot more than "Sky Captain". Even a cornball fest like "The Shadow" cracks me up and makes me smile a ton more.



Putting this debate aside and moving on to the next...how did the film do so poorly at the B.O.? What a terrible weekend in general! $16 mil at #1?? I still would like to see a (better made) sequel to Sky Captain...but, the B.O. numbers are not making me hopeful.
 

Chris Atkins

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quote:Put me in the "give me a story and characters to care about" camp.




I like great story and characters. But I also try to recognize what an artist is trying to accomplish with his movie.
 

Quentin

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quote:I like great story and characters. But I also try to recognize what an artist is trying to accomplish with his movie.




As do I. But, trying and doing are two different things, and I don't give a movie raves for trying. As I've said, I'd like to see a sequel despite not liking this film. I think it's a great idea, visually realized. Unfortunately, if it doesn't do REAL well on DVD (B.O. is obviously NOT going to do well), then we won't be seeing any sequels. A shame.
 

Tony_Ramos

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Mikel:



I didn't say there's something *wrong* with style, I said that the film focused on style to the detriment of the story, much in the same way Lucas has.



But I agree, here's hoping Conrad will utilize the full potential of his ideas next time.
 

Scott_Sch

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Caught this yesterday at a matinee...and the bottom line for me, was that I had fun watching it and even that quirky last line of the movie had me leaving with a smile on my face. Was it the best acted movie, the best directed movie or the most involved plot or characters?...absolutely not. But I certainly enjoyed it...and considering that this was a first time director and the way in which it was filmed, thats a pretty good result for me. Especially over a weekend where it seems like VH1 is the "Promote the release of the original Star Wars trilogy ever hour of the day" channel it reminded me of movies where you just have fun (which for some reason I just couldn't do with the most recent SW films). I could see though why some people would have reservations about it though. I guess I was just fortunate that those things mentioned above didn't pull me out of it. Based on what I saw though, I'm definitely hoping for a sequel (or prequel or whatever) that gives us another look with hopefully some more back story.
 

Ted Todorov

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quote:This movie's blurriness drove me crazy, I start rubbing my eyes every 2 minutes thinking my vision was impeded in some fashion.


My biggest problem with the film: the stylized look. I found both the blurriness and the sepia colors annoying.



I think that Sky Captain would have worked fine in black in white, or the Wizard of Oz type bright colors. The sepia is totally anachronistic. I interpreted Sky Captain, as a SciFi film pretending to have been made in 1939, which is a fine idea. The thing is, nobody made sepia toned, blurry movies in 1939. Big, big mistake.



Paltrow annoys me, but that's just personal. Still I do think she was miscast -- I didn't buy her as a tomboy adventuress for one second. She can't hold a candle to women who played similar parts, be it Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, or Karen Allen in Raiders. When we encounter Russell or Allen for the first time, we think, wow that's one tough chick. When we encounter Paltrow, we have a difficult time believing that she would risk breaking a nail.



All that aside I did enjoy the film -- but I would have enjoyed far more if it was a sharp, black and white film without Paltrow. (Suggestions for better choices for her part are welcome).



Ted
 

Michael Martin

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Did anyone notice that in the last part of the movie, the purposeful blurriness went away? Exterior shots of Monster Island and Frankie's floating fortress were very clear near the end of the movie. Was this a deliberate move on Conran's part? I remember thinking the long shot of the island looked far clearer than the rest of the film, and wondered why.
 

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