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Sky Captain Review and Kerry Conran.
Sky Captain Review and Kerry Conran Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach

Harkening back to the days of episodic serials, “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” attempts to blend the thrills of the old adventure films and serials with the high tech computer effects of the modern age.

The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law as reporter Polly Prince and Aviator Sky Captain, who are reunited during a surprise attack on New York by an army of robot . Polly has been investigating a recent wake of scientists who have vanished under mysterious circumstances, and when the robots attack, Polly sees a connection and gets in contact with her old flame the Sky Captain.

Sky Captain is not thrilled to see Polly as he does not trust her, especially when they last parted under a difficult situation where the Sky Captain was left in a dangerous situation as a result of Polly’s ambition. Nevertheless, the duo team up and investigate the cause of the attacks. No sooner does the duo start the investigation, then Sky Captain’s base is attacked and his friend and gadget creator Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), has been kidnapped.

In a race against time to save Dex and stop the evil Dr. Totenkoph from destroying the world, Sky Captain and Polly must travel the globe meeting all manner of deadly and bizarre resistance in some of the most remote locations on the planet. Eventually the team meets up with Captain Franky Cook, (Angelina Jolie), who also has a past with Sky Captain, and her legion of flying forces help stage an attack on the good doctors compound in a lavish display of FX and action as they attempt to gain entry to a hidden fortress.

With the clock ticking, and the situation growing tense, Sky Captain and his crew must traverse the exotic and deadly location of the hidden location before it is to late if they are to stop the doctor and his henchmen (Bai Ling), and save Dex, the missing scientists, and the world.

While ambitious “Sky Captain” suffers from a lack of focus as the film tries to do too much. Writer/Director Kerry Conran does a good job in his first feature, as he is able to blend lavish visuals in a unique and creative way to create and populate the world of the film. Sadly though, the performances of Paltrow and Law are remarkably understated and the talented cast often comes across as bland. This causes the audience to have little connection with the characters and any real tension or chemistry is sadly lacking. We know there was some history between the two lead characters but it is mostly glossed over in favor of the action that after a while comes across as more of the same and becomes bland. Only the Franky character stands out as Jollie plays her with a sultry charm and flair that hides her devilish streak, yet emphasizes the strength of her character and her loyalty to the captain.

I had really wanted to like this film, as I found the premise to be interesting, however the action sequences were rather under whelming and to me it was very obvious that the film was filmed entirely against screens and used CGI for everything from buildings to sets. While ambitious, it became overwhelming after a while and in more than one instance the backgrounds were obviously false and did not match up well with the actors.

While this can be excused, what cant be a pedestrian plot that borrows heavily from other works, and while they like this film were inspired by the serials of old, and pulp comics, I could not help but see the “Indiana Jones”, “Star Wars”, and “Jurassic Park”, over and over in the film. Law, Jolie and Paltrow are talented actors but they are given little to do aside from run around and spout stale dialogue from a story that is already muddled down by a lackluster plot, lack of tension, pacing, and average special effects.

Conran is a director with promise and it should be noted that despite the film’s faults, the film was a daunting task as it was shot in just 29 days, which would strain even the most seasoned of directors. As it stands “Sky Captain” is an average film that could have been much better with just a little more time in the hangar.

2.5 stars out of 5

Recently I had the chance to spend a few moments with Writer/Director Kerry Conran about his new movie “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

GVK: What influenced you to make this film, as it is obvious that you a re a big fan of the genre as there are references to the “Indiana Jones”, “Star Wars”, and “Jurassic Park” series.

KC: I first had my eyes opened with “King Kong” as to the wonders of filmmaking but it would be “Star Wars” that really got me going. I also used to watch the films of the 30’/40’s growing up in Michigan as the shows would come in from a station in Chicago. I also was a huge fan of older films such as “Forbidden Planet”, and “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, and the films of Howard Hawks as well as the Pulp comics of that era.

GVK: How did the process of making the film come about, as it must have been daunting for a first time filmmaker?

KC: We approached the film as an Independent film as the talent had signed on without meeting me or even seeing the script. The cast turned out to be very down to earth and very gracious people. I also appreciated the risk they took as they signed on to have their fees deferred and took a leap of faith to be in the film.

GVK: Was the decision to shoot all the shots against a screen something that was key to getting the film financed and how did you prepare for working with this format?

KC: The main thing it helped was the economics as costuming ended up being the greatest expense for the film. I had never worked with the screens before but I had one setup in my apartment and I would experiment with friends against different backgrounds. It soon became clear that even with a simple computer and a 3D program, I could create all sorts of backgrounds and this lead to the enhanced world you see in the film. We could not afford to go to New York and use Radio City Music Hall, but thanks to the computer effects we were able to use the location.

GVK: What was the first day of shooting like?

KC: It was like a scene from a monster movie, I came to the sound stage and every head in the place turned towards me. The crowd parted and there stood Gwyneth and Jude in their costumes, which was the first time I had seen them in character. I to this day do not remember how we got started, all I remember is walking towards them and thinking I can do it or I can crawl under a table in the fetal position and hide. Still, I faced the gauntlet and hit the ground running. Somehow it all worked out and we managed to get through the 29 days of shooting.

GVK: There have been rumors of a prequel. How do you stand on that?

KC: This film took about 10 years to develop and really opens in the middle. There is no origin story, and there are many storylines that could be explored. However there are no plans to do so and nothing is written thought I would like to eventually look into doing more.

GVK: What storylines would you like to see developed that you were not able to include in the first film.

KC: Some of the Island scenes were cut, as was a mouse and lion situation where a large creature is befriended who helps out along the way. It was funny as he spoke only in German and we would have used subtitles for this but due to spacing we could not do it, though the scene like all of the others were storyboarded prior to filming. There was a completed scene that was deleted that may surface on DVD where we learn more about what Totenkoph did in Shangri La as well as a alternate reunion scene with Dex. There are also some fun hidden things in the film like versions of props from other movies and such. If you look closely you can see something climbing the Empire State Building to give you a clue at what is hidden, though you will have to freeze frame to see most of it.

GVK: How is “ The Princess of Mars” coming along?

KC: We are moving full steam ahead, we do not have a script yet but we will have more resources on this film and will be using various FX techniques as good as they are computers are not able to do everything and sometimes something like a miniature for example is the best option. Past “The Princess of Mars” I would prefer to work on my own projects. I have a friend, Bob Gordon, who wrote a “Men in Black” film as well as “Galaxy Quest” so with any luck this could be our Magnum Opus, but for now, there is nothing to say on that.

GVK: Thank you.

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gareth@nwlink.com

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