If you’ve seen all three of these films, you probably already know where I’m going with this. All three use a combination of CGI and live action to meld what is essentially comic book imagery to life. Sin City and Immortal (ad vitem) are both actually based on comics, while Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, while not based on a particular comic book, is clearly steeped in the imagery of pulp magazines and comics from the 1930s.
What all three of these have in common, other than the technology that made them is that they are visually compelling. That is, even though all three are seriously flawed films in some ways, I still literally can’t tear my eyes away from them when they are on TV. They don’t LOOK like anything other films I’ve ever seen.
Sin City is pure pornography of violence, as pornographic in tersm of violence as any XXX film is pornographic in terms of sex. I don’t care for any of that stuff at all, but I can’t look away from the film when I start watching it, because it’s just so amazing to look at.
Immortel is based on a French comic book, and has the usual European art problem with coming up with a coherent plot or engaging characters, but it is so powerful visually that I just don’t care. Whereas I normally follow a movie or book or TV show to see what will happen next, with Immortel (and Sin City and World of Tomorrow) I follow them to see what I will see next.
After watching it many times, I have to concede that Sky Captain has a major flaw in that both of its leads are stiffs: neither Jude Law or Gwyneth Paltrow can project any personality at all into their characters. Kerry Conran, who made Sky Captain, would have done about as well with Clutch Cargo style cutouts substituting for the two overpriced (at any price) “stars.” But the movie is still wonderful to behold.
The Star Wars prequel (episodes I-III) trilogy also shares this quality.
I’d like to see a LOT more films like these. I bet I do, eventually.
Another Frank Miller comic book is being made into a movie: 300 is due out this spring. It looks to be filmed in a similar style to Sin City, with all CGI for the background scenery.
That does look tasty. I will be looking at it. It would be nice if movie studios were to sit up and take notice of how great these movies look. Problem is, I suspect that to a lot of people, any animation is somehow unreal, whereas live-action is somehow ‘real.’ Like those musicals from the 30s to the 50s were anything but special effects shots using soundstages instead of CGI.
I saw Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow the first time on a big screen, in a foreign country. It was dubbed and I didn’t speak enough of the local language to really know what anyone was saying. It didn’t matter, it’s just such a gorgeous movie to look at.
I saw it again on my flight home, in English, on the little three-inch, seatback screen. I liked it better the first time.
I’ve always said the problem was bad choices on the part of the actors/director. The Gwyneth Paltrow character, in particular, just screams to be played in the Rosalind Russell, His Girl Friday, fast-talking girl reporter style. Instead, she’s hesitant and indecisive; expecting to be rescued when she should be trying to save herself.
And so I don’t know if stiffness enters into it. Once it was decided to play the character that way (and I don’t know whose decision it really was) the best acting in the world wouldn’t have saved it.
I’ve never been a fan of hers, but that is an interesting idea. But then, who would have taken Jolie’s role? Paltrow’s a babe (especially in this movie), so I can’t help but wish she could have brought some flare and wit to this role (or any).
Heh, the history student in me has a geekgasm when, in response to “Our arrows shall blot out the sun!”, the guy replies “Then we will fight in the shade.”
It’s not nearly often enough that you see replies like that in the history of international politics.
I love the look and feel of the film too. It took me back to some books my father had that were hopelessly out of date when I found them in some boxes somewhere. The look and the feel of the books were not unlike that of Sky Captain…
I too felt that they needed Errol Flyn and Roz Russel. But I wonder if even they could have pulled it off. I mean functioning virtually 100 percent with CGI - reacting to what should be there rather than what is there. I don’t know. Not many (if any) could do it.
The Paltrow character in Sky Captain would have been well-played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, using her same accent and affectations as in The Hudsucker Proxy (no doubt inspired by Roz Russell, who I’m sadly unfamiliar with).
And if reacting to non-existent things is an important part of this kind of thing, replace Jude Law with Ewan McGreggor. In my opinion, Jude Law is better suited to playing jerks, or at least angry or gritty people, something about how his face seems “sharper” than most other folks. But that’s entirely my opinion.
