Visually, this has to be the cleverest, most well done art style I’ve seen in ages. Somehow, it welds live action with steampunk comic-book, adding some 1940s war film overtones, and film noir lighting. Pretty much the entire film was recorded on a blue-screen, yet everything seems real enough – albeit almost sepia-toned in places (and where appropriate).
The plot follows Joe (“Sky Captain” himself) and Polly, a reporter and love interest/rival for Joe, as they investigate the giant robots that have been attacking cities all over the world. The plot is OK, although it does wander from detective story to fighter plane action flick to Tomb Raider, getting slightly confused on the way.
One thing I didn’t understand, is how, at the start of the film, only Sky Captain himself (and not his entire fleet of aircraft) were sent out to take down an entire army of giant robots. And why didn’t Franky’s huge airbase get involved earlier? Anyway.
Well worth watching for the artyness of it. Perhaps missing something from the story, though.
Verdict: 3/5
