Grade: B | Genre: Fantasy/Adventure Summary: Sky Captain is smart, wholesome, family entertainment that Hollywood is running low on. Though the story is generic, everything else is very cool. This film tapped into the kid in me as I launched off with Sky Captain on his adventures to save the world, pesky damsel in distress in tow.

Starring: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi & Angelina Jolie
Director: Kerry Conran

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a comic book come alive. I'm not talking about your modern comic book that at times can look like a soap opera in tights. No, this is your classic comic of the 40s and 50s where heroes and villians were clearly defined and a coy innocence still existed in the world.

Essentially, Sky Captain is a partially animated Indiana Jones film. Sky Captain or Joe (played by Jude Law going for the hat trick with 6 films released in 1 year) is Indie in the guise of a World War II flyboy. He has no super powers to rely on. His heroism stems from his bravery and cunning mind. His tool is a souped up fighter plane that would make James Bond jealous and Joe can fly it like a bat out of hell.

Joe is pitted against a mad scientist building a giant rocket ship serving as the modern day Noah's Ark that will trigger the destruction of Earth in order to create a civilization anew on another world. Giant robots take siege on New York City collecting elements to assemble this uber rocket. Polly Perkins is a Lois Lane, investigative reporter type played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Perkins is spunky and sassy with a knack for getting herself wedged into situations where she needs to be plucked from. Polly and Joe were an item 3 years back but things soured when Polly sabotaged his plane for the sake of a story and matters weren't helped by Joe's messing around with another woman. They become unlikely partners as Polly has the information that Joe needs to track down the enemy and Joe has the story that Polly seeks.

Their adventures take them to the majestic snow capped Himalayas in Nepal in search of the evil Dr. Totenkopf. Caught in a bind, they seek assistance from Joe's fellow squadron mate Frankie, played by Angelina Jolie. We find out Frankie was the home wreaker the first time on the merry-go-round and Polly can't contain her jealousy when Frankie is around. This is a rather forgettable role for Jolie since her screen time is minimal but she makes the most of it as a sultry fly girl complete with a mysterious eye patch. With temptation like that in the picture, it's easy to see why Joe might have flown astray.

Law and Paltrow definitely had sparks flying. They are at each other's throats throughout but you can tell it's pulling the pigtails of the girl you liked on the playground more than anything else. There is a line when they are trying to escape an untimely death Joe says, "Can we for once die without all this bickering." There is definitely chemistry floating around between these two. Watch out Jude. Gwyneth could be sizing you up as her next ex as she continues her fruit basket family.

Sky Captain was very interesting from a composition perspective. It was filmed completely in blue screens where they went in after filming and filled in the computer-generated scenes behind the actors. The graphics are extremely well done and I thought the actors handled the limitations very well. The animation really solidifies this 40s time catch with its attention to detail. The blend with the sci-fi futuristic elements was seamless. The graphics almost have the feel of an Xbox game with the actors assimilated in.

Sky Captain is smart, wholesome, family entertainment that Hollywood is running low on. Though the story is generic, everything else is very cool. This film tapped into the kid in me as I launched off with Sky Captain on his adventures to save the world, pesky damsel in distress in tow.

Buy or rent Sky Captain today.