2008 Woodie Awards
Sky Captain Pulps Modern Cinema
Mike Sangregorio
Issue date: 9/29/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was one of the most fulfilling films to come out in quite some time. From its trailer, which did not feel the need to give away the entirety of the plot in a three-minute window, to its masterfully rendered CGI landscape, the film could do no wrong. The casting was top notch, and even more importantly, it made sense. Angelina Jolie is not here for fan service but rather as a hard-nosed agent of the skies who appears for less than a third of the film. Past these preliminary points, Sky Captain proved that a movie can be a fulfilling experience without there being controversy or a forced "pay off" scene as a climax.
Sky Captain pays homage to everything from its thematic predecessor Indiana Jones, to modern comics (as with Frankie Cook's heli-carriers), the B-grade sci-fi movies of the fifties, and even the quirky action packed serials of the 1930's and 40's. Most of these tried classics provided for an intrinsic feeling of entertainment. Most audiences left theaters feeling as if they had experienced a film worth seeing, even if the story was not Shakespearean or the effects on par with Star Wars.
Modern cinema, at least that of the past ten years, has seen the rise in popularity of films that are based more on "shock and awe" effects and giving the audience something they have not seen before. Films such as those of director M. Night Shyamalan (or even with this writer's personal favorite Fight Club) and the Wachowski Brothers has lead mainstream culture to accept these storylines and screenplays, which would have formerly been delegated to "cult status" as the norm. This drive to push the envelope and become even more "out there" has created a cycle of ambiguity that often leaves quality narratives in the dust.
Many may ask where the harm in this is? People are receiving higher end, thoughtful pieces of work that may make them think a bit more and not just satisfy some basic, need for adrenaline, right? This may be true, but what of the would-be-messianic film The Matrix? This trilogy-of-one (as the first film gives a complete story that the second two simply take away from) leads fans to believe that the world around them is a great lie...or something. Essentially The Matrix is comparable to a very long, and ultimately un-fulfilling masturbation session.
Sky Captain pays homage to everything from its thematic predecessor Indiana Jones, to modern comics (as with Frankie Cook's heli-carriers), the B-grade sci-fi movies of the fifties, and even the quirky action packed serials of the 1930's and 40's. Most of these tried classics provided for an intrinsic feeling of entertainment. Most audiences left theaters feeling as if they had experienced a film worth seeing, even if the story was not Shakespearean or the effects on par with Star Wars.
Modern cinema, at least that of the past ten years, has seen the rise in popularity of films that are based more on "shock and awe" effects and giving the audience something they have not seen before. Films such as those of director M. Night Shyamalan (or even with this writer's personal favorite Fight Club) and the Wachowski Brothers has lead mainstream culture to accept these storylines and screenplays, which would have formerly been delegated to "cult status" as the norm. This drive to push the envelope and become even more "out there" has created a cycle of ambiguity that often leaves quality narratives in the dust.
Many may ask where the harm in this is? People are receiving higher end, thoughtful pieces of work that may make them think a bit more and not just satisfy some basic, need for adrenaline, right? This may be true, but what of the would-be-messianic film The Matrix? This trilogy-of-one (as the first film gives a complete story that the second two simply take away from) leads fans to believe that the world around them is a great lie...or something. Essentially The Matrix is comparable to a very long, and ultimately un-fulfilling masturbation session.