Sky Captain Review!!!

[Doctor Strange]

Great flick - I loved it! (My kids too.)

I noticed, but didn't get too bent out of shape about, most of the historical gaffes that were mentioned above. My feeling is that the plot contrivances/coincidences and pseudoscience were just at SUCH a silly 1930s comics/pulp/serial/radio drama level that you simply couldn't look for anything to be really "historically" accurate. Or for the plot to ultimately make any sense, for that matter.

The one anachronism that really bothered me were the continual references to "World War I". Nobody called it that before WWII - it was either "the Great War" or just "the War"! (Of course, a modern film audience has to be explicitly told "World War I", so I understand why they did it.)

 

[MDFrench]

Paddy,

It was the fall of Shanghai - but yeah, the whole mention of the AVG throws things out of whack. Again though, it's just supposed to be fun entertainment. If I wanted accuracy and realism, I would have been defeated within the first five minutes of the film, but I wanted Max Fleischer-style sci-fi and that's what I got!

I'll leave accuracy to Band of Brothers and the like. For sheer 1930s escapism, I'll take Sky Captain and The Rocketeer!

 

[Dalexs]

Would you guys please go look up "Suspension of Disbelief"
in the dictionary.

Believe it or not, it IS OK to JUST enjoy a movie every now and then.

 

[renor27]

MDFrench

Sky Captain is a fun film and that is all it is. .
I do not agree with you on Band of Brothers or any of the other "historical" films that have been made by Dream Works. The films are so badly made when it come to the what really happen that I can not watch them. One of the biggest problems is the helemts worn by the Germans there was a change in the middle of the war yet a film like Shindlers' List has the Germans in one style of helmet from the start of the war to the end. Also as wonderful a job as the 101st did (Band of Brothers ) they did not get to the Eagles Nest first that was as I remember a Texas unit, ( if i am wrong some one please let me know) but the texas are not as well known as the 101st and would not make such a good story.
David

 

[Brad Bowers]

Finally saw Sky Captain yesterday after buying the DVD. It was an entertaining film, and visually fun to look at. I was left feeling disappointed at the end of the film, however. The story just kind of weakly fell apart (Star Trek: Generations, anyone?). It could have used a bit more rewriting. But even though the last fifteen or twenty minutes was disappointing, it was still fun to watch. Oh, yeah, and I don't think Gwyneth Paltrow can act.

Trying to decide if I wasted $16.

Brad

 

[MDFrench]

Brad - Little tip. Watch it again with the color turned down on your TV! The filmmakers intended it to be in black and white to closely model 1930s film noir and the studio mandated the addition of color!

The black and white experience is VERY COOL. You see visual references to vintage photography, films like Twelve O'Clock High and The Big Sleep and Maltese Falcon, etc!

Makes for a more fun experience and a truer vision of the film.

Just FYI.

Mike

 

[Rumpled Fedora]

I got Sky Captain on DVD a few days ago.
Is the german truck from Raiders of the Lost Ark really in there? Does anyone know what part?

 

[up196]

Raiders truck

Is the german truck from Raiders of the Lost Ark really in there? Does anyone know what part?

There is a scene where they have one of the giant robots in a hanger/warehouse. The truck is in the foreground; seems like only the upper portion is visible at the bottom of the screen. Has the rack on the cab roof and the canvas cover.

 

[Rumpled Fedora]

There is a scene where they have one of the giant robots in a hanger/warehouse. The truck is in the foreground; seems like only the upper portion is visible at the bottom of the screen. Has the rack on the cab roof and the canvas cover.

Thanks for telling me. I guess I'll have to see it for myself now.

 

[AlanC]

Well, I saw it last night...

with the wife on DVD. First I'll say, if you've not seen it, see it. Then I'll add that I hoped and expected to like it better than I did. I loved a lot of what they were doing and trying to do, but it didn't have the soul of a movie like Raiders, etc. Somehow it didn't quite click. All in all, a good but not great movie, but the visuals alone might be worth the price of buying the DVD (although I rented).

 

[BJonas]

My (late) 2 Cents

Okay, I just had to open my big fat geek-mouth and chime in: In my opinion, the inconsistencies present in the movie are because it's in an alternate time period. The first clue is right at the beginning: the Hindenburg III. There wasn't anymore after the first one. WWI is refered to as such because in the world of SCatWoT, there has already been a second one. There is no sign of impending toubles with Germany because we've already beaten them.

This is the kinda thing I come up with when I think about these things for too long.

Man, I LOVES me some Sky Captain

 

[David Conwill]

I was just thinking about writing a Dieselpunk short story today and decided to see what the board had thought about Sky Captain when it came out. I thought the film was pretty decent, but my criticism is the opposite of Mr. Deckard's above - the crudely animated automobiles were a bizarre contrast to the hyper-realistic P-40. It would have made the film far more palatable if they had used the real thing or at least modeled the autos on real ones with slight changes, ala Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy film.

-Dave

 

[hbenthow]

The one anachronism that really bothered me were the continual references to "World War I". Nobody called it that before WWII - it was either "the Great War" or just "the War"! (Of course, a modern film audience has to be explicitly told "World War I", so I understand why they did it.)

In "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", the term "The First World War" is used twice. Some people, noticing this, have commented that this is a goof, as that term did not come into being until after the Second World War, whereas the movie is set in 1939.

However, after a little digging, I have found the truth of the matter. It turns out, the use of the term "The First World War" was brought up before production, and it was decided upon that it would be used, because the term is historically accurate. You see, The term "The First World War" goes back at least to 1921 when the book of the same name was published.

The phrase "world war" first came into use in 1909 in the April 8
edition of the "Westminster Gazette". This usage precedes the existence of the actual First World War. Similarly, the phrase "World War 2" preceded the Second World War as well, when it was used in reference to an unrelated conflict by the "Manchester Guardian" in its February 18, 1919 issue.

Interestingly enough, both World Wars I & II seem to have been named
as such in one swoop by "Time Magazine" in its September 11, 1938
issue.

Also, in 1939, the very year "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is set, this was published:

"1919 March. Guardian 18 Feb. 10/2 (heading) World War No 2. 1939 Time 11 Sept. 38/1 Some of the diplomatic juggling which last week ended in World War II was old-fashioned international jockeying for power. Ibid. 18 Sept. 10/2 Exports of arms, munitions and related materials in World War I amounted..to only 25% of total exports to the Allies."

(I believe "38/1" means page 38, column 1.)

 

[Pompidou]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is everything I like in a movie. I'm hoping Suckerpunch captures some of the sense of raw adventure.

 

[MikeBravo]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is everything I like in a movie. I'm hoping Suckerpunch captures some of the sense of raw adventure.

I was thinking that myself. Maybe there were some inconsistencies, maybe not (it is fantasy after all).

I enjoyed Sky Captain (was on TV yesterday) and am happy to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the ride. I intend to do the same for Sucker Punch (and Thor for that matter).

 

[Effingham]

Even with the logical flaws, I love that flick.
I can appreciate the story, and I can appreciate the technical achievement that film represents. I can also appreciate the difficulty of acting against.... nothing. That's not easy to do.