Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: Blu-ray disc DVD Review

Forget tomorrow. Kerry Conran's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is the movie to see today.

Shot entirely against a blue screen with sets, locations and several robotic and monstrous characters digitally added after principal shooting ended, the film is a fun, dashing adventure set in 1939, with today's audiences essentially feasting on the moviemaking of tomorrow.

The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins, ace reporter for the New York Chronicle, who is forced to team with former love and ace aviator Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan (Jude Law) to save the world from certain doom by the mad scientist, Dr. Totenkopf (played by Laurence Olivier, who died in 1989 but who has been digitally brought back to life).

Along the way, they encounter towering robots who smash through Manhattan's skyline in search of generators, bat-like spaceships armed with heat-seeking missiles, elephants that could fit in the palm of your hand, and a caped villain in Bai Ling.

Also in the mix is Angelina Jolie's Capt. Franky Cook, who sports the sort of sex appeal that turns Joe's head while making Polly seethe with jealousy. Giovanni Ribisi is just right as Dex Dearborn, the kooky, kidnapped techy Joe is fighting to save.

"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is a movie in love with movies, but which loves pop culture more. Inspiring it are countless films, books, comics and television shows. Still, in spite of all from which it draws, it’s an original. Just look at it lighting the screen. This is glamorous, high-end noir shot through with art deco elements heightened by the future.

It's not perfect. The first half of the story could be tighter and the chemistry between co-stars Paltrow and Law is initially nonexistent. But when it takes off at its midpoint, there's no keeping it down or, for that matter, forgetting it. It closes with a final shot that's hands down among the best of any movie last year.

Grade: A-