It’s the world of tomorrow as would have been envisioned in the 1940s.  Thirty years after a top secret German project was shut down, just prior to World War II, six German scientists have mysteriously vanished.  A seventh contacts New York Chronicle reporter Polly Perkins to tell her he’ll be the next one to disappear, and why.

Their rendezvous however is cut short when Manhattan comes under attack by giant machines and Joe “Sky Captain” Sullivan swoops down to save the day.  But what this seventh scientist left with Polly was clues to a puzzle, which she and Joe must solve… together.

From here the movie jumps into the familiar “save the world by going after the elusive bad guy” plot.  Despite this mildly predictable plot, there are certainly some twists along the way that are worth noting, but I shan’t give away here.

Though riddled with clichés that I’m sure writer/director Kerry Conran couldn’t resist putting into this type of movie, the film does have some imaginative saves, such as floating air platform.

Jude Law (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence) does a fair job at portraying the Sky Captain, even if he doesn’t hold his character quite as well here as in other films.  Law was certainly a good casting if for now other reason than his smooth British accent that allows his words to roll perfectly off his tongue.  What better voice is there for a flying ace?

Gwyneth Paltrow (Shallow Hal) was acceptable as Polly Perkins, although she too had trouble staying in character.  Although part of that almost seemed to be by design.  Most of the time Paltrow played Polly tough and daring—like a tomboy trapped in a skirt—but then there would be these moments every so often where she would suddenly become the “ditsy blonde” who’s in over her head and doesn’t even realize it.

Giovanni Ribisi (Cold Mountain) played the somewhat nerdy, yet resourceful scientists/sidekick to Sky Captain.  Ribisi had a somewhat difficult role to play, which he did quite well, finding the perfect balance between being a bit of a nerd, yet fearless with a quiet strength.

Angelina Jolie (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movies) received fairly high billing, considering her role was somewhat minor and only appeared in the final third of the movie.  However as “the other woman” and a sky platform commander, Jolie handled the character really well.

The look of the film was well accomplished with overly-soft lighting and muted colors throughout.  Conran did a fine job of blending the look of science fiction from the forties with the technology of today.

The plot does suffer from a few holes that make you go, “Now how did they get here?”  Also, some of the fight scenes have some points to them that push the envelope of believability a bit too far. 

That being said, this film is still worth a viewing as long as you can let yourself enter the campy yet fanciful world that the movie lays out for you.