Have you joined the squadron??

"Joyous" is not a word we get to use to describe our movies much nowadays. We can say "exciting." "Thrilling." "Entertaining." And these things are all great things. Spiderman 2 was a wonderful film that was all of those things. It entertained me. It thrilled me. It was exciting.

But experiencing pure joy in the cinema is a rarity. I'm talking the kind of joy that makes you giggle not because something's funny but because it makes you feel like a 10-year old kid again, transported back to those magic days when the world was in jeopardy by dastardly villains and dashing heroes and plucky damsels had to save the day. When you didn't question things that couldn't really happen and when your heroes didn't worry about psychology or feelings but simply rushed in to save the day.

Having bashed it earlier this week for having previews that appeared "corny," let me say that Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow is the most thrillingly joyous time I've had at the movies since seeing Return of the King last year. It is easily the most entertaining film of the year and captures that feeling that I got when I finally saw the original Star Wars trilogy (not the sucky new ones) or Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. It's not perfect, not artsy, not deep. But then again, it is perfect because it's so darn. . . fun. Really, how can you not like a movie that starts with robots rampaging a 1930s New York that only existed in our imaginations, moves on to include world domination, British fighter squadrons led by a one-eyed Angelina Jolie, an island with prehistoric mutants, and ends with a joke that is legitimately funny because it's in the context of the movie!?

Now, Sky Captain is not Raiders of the Lost Ark, only because that film had the genius of Steven Spielberg and the reckless heroism of Harrison Ford as Indy. But I feel the best compliment I can pay would be to say that the only way Sky Captain could have been more entertaining would have been to have Spielberg himself behind the camera. As it is, it already feels like director Kerry Conran is the child that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas never had, as he integrates old movie nostalgia with the incredible special effects and a genuine talent for storytelling. The fact that he hails from only an hour away from where I live is so much the better. And this is his first movie?? I can't WAIT to see what he has up his sleeves!

First off, the look of this film is so pitch perfect. Honestly, had it not starred today's movie stars and had such great effects I would have been tricked into believing this was an actual serial from the 1940s. It's not just the sepia toned look. The editing, the hard boiled dialouge, the acting style that is miles away from Method. . . it's perfect. I was reminded of the old Superman cartoons my Papaw used to show me, which were obviously the inspirations for the film's New York scene. But other scenes. . . are they lying by telling me this was computer generated? Simply put, it's amazing to behold. The raid on New York city, the "ark," Franky's flying squadron. . . this is the movie I dreamt about as a kid and loved just as much today.

As perfect as the direction was, this film lived or died on the actors. Actors not of the right caliber who didn't understand the style of the film could have made it cheesy or groan-inducing. Instead, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow seem to be channeling spirits of stars long past. Law is an actor I admire simply because he really can take on any role. His Sky Captain is the hero from the 40s who jumps recklessly into danger, trades barbs quickly, and doesn't think about his life for a moment. Gwyneth Paltrow's Polly Perkins is wonderful. Plucky, witty, mischevious. Finally, a movie where the heroine is not a damsel in distress or just eye candy. When Paltrow gets a good role, she is pure magic, and this film is perfect for her. Angelina Jolie only logs about 15 minutes of screen time, but she's much better here than she was in the awful Tomb Raider films.

But I'm taking this too seriously now. Sky Captain is pure Saturday matinee fun that you won't even regret paying full price for on Friday night. I giggled throughout it and there was a big smile on my face as the plot jumped from one point to another. There was applause in our theatre when it was done and I joined right in. I plan on seeing it again, and think taking my grandfather would be the perfect gesture.

This movie is the rare film that is uncynical and totally intent on just being fun. There's been so much talk about a fourth Indiana Jones movie, but I'm ready to say screw it. Spielberg's doing the best work of his career in the new directions he takes, Harrison Ford is getting old, and George Lucas is a shell of the man he once was. Forget Indy. Bring on a new Sky Captain film!

C-Dubbs