Edwin
September 26th, 2004, 08:37 am
http://www.valkiria.net/skin/film/pic/misc_img/s_sky_captain.jpg
I've always liked some of the Republic serials from the '30s, '40s and early '50s. (Leonard Nimoy got his start in Hollywood as an Alien bad-guy in Zombies of the Stratosphere (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6300209369/qid=1096179646/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl27/102-3090833-7020117?v=glance&s=video&n=507846).) The Sci-Fi themed ones tended to be low on budget and plot logic and high on schmaltzy heroism and whatever the writers happened to be smoking at the time.
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow does a pretty good job of evoking the genre with it's washed-out Black & White and sepia/color tones (a slightly exaggerated Kodacrome effect reminiscent of Warner Bros.' "The Adventures of Robin Hood" [1938]), Comic Book-inspired technology (the hero's P-40E is as tricked-out as any Bond car, and the villain commands an army of giant robots and ornithopter-style fighters), it's schmaltzy, stock heroes and heroines (The mercenary-with-a-sense-of-honor-and-a-heart-of-gold-pilot [Jude Law, sounding a bit anachronistic with his British accent]), The stunningly-beautiful-but-hard-nosed-reporter (Gwenyth Paltrow), the techno-genius/inventor/sidekick-with-the-brainy-name (Giovanni Ribisi) and The Girlfriend-with-nerves-of-steel-from-the-hero's-past, (an underused Angelina Jolie), and brassy, fanfare/march-styled music. The major difference between this movie and those serials is a much larger budget ($70 million, as opposed to the shoestrings that the Republic serials had to work with) and a decent and action-filled, if sometimes-a-bit-too-schmaltzy-for-it's-own-good script. Comparing it to Raiders of the Lost Ark would be a bit unfair because, while both were inspired by the genre, Raiders is more of an homage; while Sky Captain is closer to the actual feel and structure of a serial.
So if you want to watch an adventure-packed Summer "popcorn" movie, then I would heartily recommend checking your brain at the theater lobby door (and don't forget to tip the coat-check girl!) and see this. And may the Shmaltz be with you...
I've always liked some of the Republic serials from the '30s, '40s and early '50s. (Leonard Nimoy got his start in Hollywood as an Alien bad-guy in Zombies of the Stratosphere (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6300209369/qid=1096179646/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl27/102-3090833-7020117?v=glance&s=video&n=507846).) The Sci-Fi themed ones tended to be low on budget and plot logic and high on schmaltzy heroism and whatever the writers happened to be smoking at the time.
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow does a pretty good job of evoking the genre with it's washed-out Black & White and sepia/color tones (a slightly exaggerated Kodacrome effect reminiscent of Warner Bros.' "The Adventures of Robin Hood" [1938]), Comic Book-inspired technology (the hero's P-40E is as tricked-out as any Bond car, and the villain commands an army of giant robots and ornithopter-style fighters), it's schmaltzy, stock heroes and heroines (The mercenary-with-a-sense-of-honor-and-a-heart-of-gold-pilot [Jude Law, sounding a bit anachronistic with his British accent]), The stunningly-beautiful-but-hard-nosed-reporter (Gwenyth Paltrow), the techno-genius/inventor/sidekick-with-the-brainy-name (Giovanni Ribisi) and The Girlfriend-with-nerves-of-steel-from-the-hero's-past, (an underused Angelina Jolie), and brassy, fanfare/march-styled music. The major difference between this movie and those serials is a much larger budget ($70 million, as opposed to the shoestrings that the Republic serials had to work with) and a decent and action-filled, if sometimes-a-bit-too-schmaltzy-for-it's-own-good script. Comparing it to Raiders of the Lost Ark would be a bit unfair because, while both were inspired by the genre, Raiders is more of an homage; while Sky Captain is closer to the actual feel and structure of a serial.
So if you want to watch an adventure-packed Summer "popcorn" movie, then I would heartily recommend checking your brain at the theater lobby door (and don't forget to tip the coat-check girl!) and see this. And may the Shmaltz be with you...