A high time with "Sky Captain"

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was first planned for theaters last June. The studio held it until this weekend, not wanting to compete with big summer releases, and the timing is perfect. This is just the kind of movie fun we need right now, when the new TV season sucks and the next wave of movie “biggies” doesn’t arrive until Thanksgiving.

Sky Captain is Doc Savage, Metropolis, the old Fleischer Superman cartoons, Rocketeer, and Indiana Jones rolled into a glorious CGI retro-future. Everything except the actors (Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie) and a few props is computer generated. Amazing. (Even the late Sir Laurence Olivier stars in this film, courtesy of computer geeks.)

This is the first movie by writer-director Kerry Conran. Next up for Conran: A Princess of Mars. I think Edgar Rice Burroughs buffs can breathe easier now, knowing Conran’s at the reins of that project.

Oh, and Sky Captain features the best movie punch line I’ve heard in ages. Great fun.