# Semi-obligatory "Sky Captain" Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434 "2004-09-14T15:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dangergene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@dangergene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangergene)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/41 "2004-09-17T03:15:03Z")
but **HPL** , good sir(?), how do you plan to confront _the robot menace_?!? I’m sure the concerns about the audience not ‘getting’ this film are valid. So many folks didn’t ‘get’ _The Rocketeer_, and that film is STILL regarded as ‘bad’ (I loved it, and I want more episodes, a saturday matinee serial or something. ANYTHING!!!). But then I wonder how many people were expected to ‘get’ Star Wars before it came out in '77? Wasn’t that regarded as a pretty dodgy film pre-release? (I don’t know, I was small, and only remember thinking how cool it was. My dad was pretty chuffed cos it was a return to the Flash Gordon type movies of his kidhood). My real hope is that this will spawn a new generation of non-cynical, serial-type dramas so we can experience a holw new wave of 50s-style cinema going. That would be far out!!! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/42 "2004-09-18T06:50:15Z")
I saw it today and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I’ve read a lot of sci-fi from that era, which I think helped - it was one big homage to all the old sci-fi standbys. But I, for one, thought it was a wonderful movie, and I’m amazed it got made in today’s Hollywood. It’s definitely the most unique movie I’ve seen in years. It’s the movie Jules Verne would have made if he had modern filmmaking technology. Did anyone else catch how many George Lucas references there were? For starters, the scientist’s lab near the beginning was in suite 1138. They got a bit more obvious toward the end. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/43 "2004-09-18T08:07:11Z")
Ooh, that was lots of fun. Even though I’m only 29 I connected it right away with those old Superman cartoons. I want more of that world. BTW, did anyone else catch the typo in the end credits? See if you can find it while listening to the nice music. If you want to know what it was it was [spoiler]“Addtional Gaffer” At least I think it was gaffer. First time I ever noticed a typo there.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/44 "2004-09-18T13:07:07Z")
That was fun. But – before World War II went big-time, how did people refer to World War I? That threw me for moment, but I given the historical ignorance of the General Public I’ll let it slide… ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/45 "2004-09-18T13:15:52Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Did anyone else catch how many George Lucas references there were? For starters, the scientist’s lab near the beginning was in suite 1138. They got a bit more obvious toward the end. This is embarassing, but I’ll bite. 1138? I don’t get it. Thanx in advance. Pullin ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/46 "2004-09-18T13:28:23Z")
Lucas’ first film was titled **THX-1138**. It has been re-imaged recently and re-released. Lucas has used that number in almost every one of his films since then, from the license plate on a car in **American Grafitti** to the cellblock in **Star Wars**. I know there are more, but I grew up and stopped paying attention to such things. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/47 "2004-09-18T13:37:27Z")
I liked it, my 6 year old son liked it. The tinted-sepia look works amazingly well in many shots - e.g., Gwyneth close-ups and big vistas - but can be murky at times. The plot is thin. But overall, it is worth see and definitely big-screen material… ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/48 "2004-09-18T13:46:15Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > That was fun. > > But – before World War II went big-time, how did people refer to World War I? That threw me for moment, but I given the historical ignorance of the General Public I’ll let it slide… It was reffered to as “The World War” I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/49 "2004-09-18T14:02:14Z")
I thought WW I was called ‘The Great War’, before we got the sequeal that was even better. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/50 "2004-09-18T14:54:33Z")
Zeppelins docking at the Empire State Bldg! Giant robots roaming the streets! Man, if we could only have today’s technology with 1930’s Art Deco…that would be heaven! Gotta see this one! ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/51 "2004-09-18T16:46:27Z")
Perhaps there as a brief second world war that was stomped out rather quickly by the might of the British Air Navy, with their flying aircraft carriers for amphibious planes and such. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/52 "2004-09-18T17:48:17Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Zeppelins docking at the Empire State Bldg! Giant robots roaming the streets! > Man, if we could only have today’s technology with 1930’s Art Deco…that would be heaven! > Gotta see this one! I’ll take Giants Robots over the War on Terror any day. See Robot, Destory Robot. Simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/53 "2004-09-18T21:23:15Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I thought WW I was called ‘The Great War’, before we got the sequeal that was even better. It was, so far as I remember. I’ve never heard of WWI being called a World War until the second one came around. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/54 "2004-09-18T22:12:22Z")
Just saw it. Very fun, albeit uneven. The initial scene in the streets of New York, with the giant robots–_wonderful!!!_ I think the submersiblw airplaqnes were overdone, _(there should only have been one)_ , but all in all, not too shabby. Did anybody catch the brief “Godzilla” or “Thunderbirds” tip-of-the-hat gestures in several scenes? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/55 "2004-09-18T23:12:07Z")
Will this film make me despise Gwyneth any less? 'Cause otherwise, I ain’t gonna bother. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/56 "2004-09-18T23:35:00Z")
As far as the timing goes, at one point Polly says that no one had heard from the evil doctor since just before the first World War, “over thirty years ago”. So it’s kind of vague. Obviously, it’s an alternate history. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/57 "2004-09-18T23:46:29Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Will this film make me despise Gwyneth any less? 'Cause otherwise, I ain’t gonna bother. I like Gwyneth a lot in some things things (Shakespeare in Love, The Royal Tenenbaums, even Shallow Hal). But I didn’t like her in this. She looked great, but her acting was so wooden it often took me out of the story. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/58 "2004-09-18T23:46:48Z")
I _loved_ this movie. Absolutely loved it. I wanna be Sky Captain when I grow up. I thought it sagged a little bit toward the middle, with the whole journey to Nepal thing, but it picked right up again with the British Helicarriers and the amphibious squadron, which I thought was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. And the ending? Perfect. Absolutely perfect. The adventure is over, so the movie ends. No boring filler garbage. If I had a qualm at all, it might be that the robot ninja woman seemed a bit too modern for her surroundings stylistically. However, I don’t even mind until her fight with Sky Captain, which lasts about two minutes, so it’s no big deal. Loved the Mechanical Monsters, loved Giovanni Ribisi’s raygun, loved Polly’s meddling reporters ways, loved the wink that Sky Captain gives every now and then. I really, really hope this movie does well, but I agree with many that people just aren’t going to get it. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it to the theater to see it at least once more before it’s gone, because this movie begs to be seen on the big screen (I want Sky Captain in iMax!). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/59 "2004-09-19T01:10:19Z")
Saw it today in an almost empty theater. It was playing on one screen in a multiplex that still had _Resident Evil_ on two screens. The film will bomb at the box office and be revived as a cult movie, which is a problem since it will look horrible on a tv set compared to the large screen and rear speakers. My friends and I all liked it but spent much hilarious time over dinner pointing out the astounding continuity errors. It’s much like _Hero_ in that almost all the appeal lies in the visuals with dialog, plot and characterization lacking to non-existent. And way too much of the imagery was taken not from 30s serials, but from 60s Marvel Comics. I’ll have to digest it more, but overall I was disappointed. All that firepower packed into a popgun aimed at a pinhead. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434/60 "2004-09-19T01:23:56Z")
I loved it. Best movie I’ve seen this year (which isn’t saying a lot). It was kind of like Howard Hawks directing a Doc Savage story as scripted by H. G. Wells. If \*Raiders \*was a 10, then _Sky Captain_ is at least a 9.5. I hope it’s a huge hit and that the inevitable sequel won’t be a _Temple of Doom_ crapfest. I may be wrong, but I didn’t notice any swastikas on the _Hindenburg III_. Perhaps the Nazis have already been defeated by 1939 in this timeline? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obligatory-sky-captain-thread/264434.md?page=4)