Special effects used to be harmless and pleasurable. Then computers got involved.
Suddenly, everything on screen was so hyper-realistic and awe-inducing that they became distracting. And phony looking. And, sometimes, boring as hell.
Sci-fi franchises took the hardest hits. The "Matrix" sequels were a trying debacle, and as a kid, I never thought I'd seriously consider walking out of a "Star Wars" prequel.
How, then, did first-time director Kerry Conrad succeed where George Lucas fell short?
The answer: by drawing from the past — the Fleischer brothers' Superman cartoons, "King Kong," "Indiana Jones" — to look ahead at the future of special effects-driven filmmaking.
Conrad's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," the first entirely CGI-rendered film, is a marvelous escapist entertainment that generates thrills with nary a whiff of pretension or excess.
It's the late 1930s, on the cusp of World War II, and Sky Captain (played by Jude Law), a daring aviation hero, along with zealous newspaper reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), set out on a globe-spanning mission to uncover an evil plot surrounding the disappearances of several noted scientists. These disappearances have something to do with the total annihilation of the world. Who would have guessed?
Their adventure takes them from a deco-curved New York City to a remote Pacific island ruled by exotic, genetically-enhanced creatures.
In between, we're treated to skyscraper-toppling robots, a well-utilized ray gun, Angelina Jolie (playing Captain "Franky" Cook, British Air Force) in an eye patch, and a doomsday plot straight from the pages of the Old Testament.
Anyone looking for resonance or a trace of soulfulness should stay home. "Sky Captain" is pure hokum — even more ridiculous-sounding than the brief description suggests — though that's one of its many charms.
Nonetheless, if the design and execution were as one-dimensional as the plot and characters, we'd have another "Attack of the Clones" on our hands. Miraculously, instead have a groundbreaking, visually arresting action picture.
The success can be attributed to how well the actors are seamlessly integrated into the CGI work. Every frame basks under a luscious, glossy scheme that matches the characters with their lush environments to a hither to unseen degree.
Structurally, there's some wear and tear. It all plays like a greatest-hits string of the most grandly realized sci-fi serial ever made, often covering more genre-steeped ground than necessary. It could've benefited from a commercial break and just enough time to stretch and visit the concession stand.
Still, Conrad's reverence toward his sources — demonstrated through conspicuous homage and reference — carry the film through saggy moments of exposition.
For those who helm the next CGI-laden blockbuster, the lesson is clear: Special effects must always engage an audience without distancing them from the film. "Sky Captain" will delight even the staunchest Luddite.
Grade: AB