Blast off to adventure!

(Brian and Michael - Matchstick Cats and Dogs)

Ho Hum, its raining almost as bad outside as in the apartment below that of Lenny Kravitz...

The U.S Presidential race is still toddling along with both candidates doing a better job of rememebering what each other said than themselves. At the end of the day the lack any real distinct policies, not that that matters since only one will decide the fate of the Whitehouse and its not even taking place IN America...

I not long ago watched Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and might as well pitch my tuppence worth in right... about........ now.

When I saw the trailers for this film I was both excited and sceptical. Excited at the prospect of a good old fashioned adventure film in the vein of Indiana Jones and Flash Gordon, sceptical at whether the general public would actually want to see a film which was, to all intents and purposes, a geek-fest. As it turned out, both my hunches were off.
Its not that I didn't like this film, it had its moments, but overall I felt dissatisfied. It just didn't deliver exactly what it promised me. The plot was ludicrous, not a problem I hear you say, but in a bad way. The writers tried to shoehorn too many things into one film, breaking them up you could have had a couple of more films on your hand should you find yourself with a tasty franchise. We could have been treated to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sky Captain and the Secret of Shangrilah and Sky Captain and the Island That Time Forgot instead of fleeting glimpses of several story worthy locales, enough to whet the appetite but not sate it.
The acting was ok, I bought Jude Law as our hero, he has the look and the charisma to pull it off. However, he seemed to be cut off at the knees by PC writing. I know we live in the 21st Century but if you're aiming for old school adventure the female lead should not be the equal of the hero, too often was Gwyneth Paltrow helping him to succeed. She should have been the damsel in distress more often, I point to the Indiana Jones films as an example, yes Kate Capshaw et al were strong females but they ended up dependant on Indy in the end. This all detracted from my investment in the Sky Captain character. Paltrow herself is woeful in the film, she doesn't get the nosey reporter right at all, she should be nosey and obtrusive but not annoying. She outright lies on several occaisions and seems very slow to pick up on whats happening (scientists keep going missing, I'm the supposed reporter in the know, someone tells me they know who's next, ooohhhh what could it mean?). The supporting cast gets of lighter though as they all do what is asked of them. Angelina Jolie is almost pitch perfect as the tally ho Brit although using her to advertise the film is a little cheeky since she's barely a cameo. The tibetan guide fellow (I beleive the actor is called Kaji) REALLY should be paying royalties to John Rhys-Davies since he is a direct lift from his Indy character, Sallah.
The film does have its good points, the action sequences on the whole look and feel exciting and the gag with the last two shots on the camera, while overplayed, does have a good resolution. As an experiment in whether the production method is feasible I'd say it has proved its worth and with refinement could be quite a success. But, like Final Fantsy the Spirits Within before it, all the fancy techniques in the world are no use without a really good story behind them and, in my opinion, this is where Sky Captain lets itself down. Box office has been on the whole good, however, and so my fear of accessability to joe public was unfounded, perhaps it is this very accessability that alienated this particular geek... (not Knowles though, who love it).

TTFN