Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

[Dolemite]

It's difficult to suspend your disblief when you know the actors are just walking across a green screen the entire movie. I'm not against mixing animation and live-action at all, but there's gotta be a balance. I can understand giant CG robots as tall as a building, I can understand CG mountains and rockets. What I cannot understand are CG desks and doors and trees.

Plus, I can't understrand how an actor can "get into" a part when everywhere they look is the color of lime Jell-O. Probably explains the lifeless performances.

And just because someone goes "trekking across the globe" like Indy did doesn't make make the movie anything like Indy. That's like saying the Harlem Globetrotters remind you of Indy.

But in the right hands, I could see this concept working. It's just the movie had no...no anything. No excitement, nothing. Toy Story, which was 100% CG, had 10,000x the personality.

[SearchManX]

You're right about the personality bit, and much of the acting was hokey but I just chalked it up to that feeling of cheesiness you get from those classic movies anymore. This movie felt like it fit in with some of that cheesy acting you see from the 50's and 60's.

As for the Indiana Jones feel, the Harlem Globetrotters didn't have a fat, foreign dude with an accent that acted as a guide, while this movie did.

[seen]

I wasn't thinking "that's fake and this is fake" as a computer artist myself I understand that you have to suspend some perceptions of reality when looking at a cg movie because it is hard to get textures to look right and set up cameras and lights, you can't just point and shoot. Its just that those fake parts were so apparent that my threshold for forgiveness was overwhelmed.

I wanted it to be an adventure movie with a somewhat manly character, yes Jude Law can act manly if you wanted him to. A bit more sexual innuendos. Some sarcastic wit. And an interesting plot... that's all.

If any of you are saying that you felt like it was a real Manhattan you were seeing in those rendered skyrises, I contest that as well. I used to work in midtown on an 18th floor where I watched the sunsets reflected off glass walls of magnificent structures. A flow of industrial current which hasn't changed for the last 70 years. A reflection of overworked workaholics striving for perfectionism. Even in the winter or at any other time it never looked like it did in the movie. Gotham city from the first two Batmans however did l remind me of that. Another movie which reminded me of that was Hudsuker Proxy, which also has comedic tone reminiscent of the twenties and thirties.

This movie didn't even come close to giving me any feeling. I'm mainly protesting because I'm just tired of seeing movies like this, and these guys being interviewed on how they made a breakthrough and how others should follow their formula. I'm gonna say that Conrad should have travelled once in a while instead of sitting in his basement trying to figure out how to render an explosion. Maybe go to Manhattan and walk the entire island from SoHo to Upper west side. It probably would have inspired him to have a more worldly movie. Oh yeah and WTF Ebert gave it four stars, is that guy on crack or what?

[Mzo]

I wanted it to be an adventure movie with a somewhat manly character, yes Jude Law can act manly if you wanted him to.

He does everything you want him to late at night, in the world of your imagination.

[seen]

He does everything you want him to late at night, in the world of your imagination.

I should have said if the director wanted him to... Doh. But you get what I mean, who would you rather have up there a Harrison Ford, or Michael Douglas in their prime or a whiny skinny balding british dude. That said, I would have settled for the guy from the Transporter, who is also british. Heroes have to be a bit psychotic and have complexes which are believable, they wouldn't have the balls to do what they do otherwise.

[Mzo]

I don't know who had the balls to compare this to an Indy movie (Ebert? Yeah, he does have the balls, he can do it if he wants to), but you're right: I don't think any of these fobs nowadays can compare to Harrison Ford in his prime.

If I ever wanted to be anyone as a little kid (yesterday), it was Indiana Jones.

[SearchManX]

I wasn't thinking "that's fake and this is fake" as a computer artist myself I understand that you have to suspend some perceptions of reality when looking at a cg movie because it is hard to get textures to look right and set up cameras and lights, you can't just point and shoot. Its just that those fake parts were so apparent that my threshold for forgiveness was overwhelmed.

Ah, you're a computer artist, that explains your pickiness. But seriously, I'd say at least 75% of the audience would easily believe that these scenes were shot in real locations. I have friends that said the effects in Spiderman 2 were realistic.

If any of you are saying that you felt like it was a real Manhattan you were seeing in those rendered skyrises, I contest that as well. I used to work in midtown on an 18th floor where I watched the sunsets reflected off glass walls of magnificent structures.... *snip*

I had no clue what Manhattan was like in the 1930's. I'm sure 90% of the audience doesn't know either. And you could verily argue that there was no Hindenberg III as well. This is supposed to be an alternate timeline.

[Dolemite]

No one should compare this to an Indy movie. Period. Harrison Ford would kick Jude Law's ass.

[SearchManX]

There's no way Harrison Ford can compare to Jude Law. It's like comparing The Rock and Vin Diesel to Arnold and Sly Stallone...

[Dolemite]

*sigh*...the action stars of this era are indeed sorely lacking compared to yesteryear...

We need a crossover flick ala Freddy Vs. Jason...Arnold & Sly vs. Rock and Vin.