Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

"Who will save us?"

2004 1h 47m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 1,434

Science FictionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When gigantic robots attack New York City, "Sky Captain" uses his private air force to fight them off. His ex-girlfriend, reporter Polly Perkins, has been investigating the recent disappearance of prominent scientists. Suspecting a link between the global robot attacks and missing men, Sky Captain and Polly decide to work together. They fly to the Himalayas in pursuit of the mysterious Dr. Totenkopf, the mastermind behind the robots.

“Who will save us?”

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Cast

Jude Law
Sky Captain
Gwyneth Paltrow
Polly Perkins
Angelina Jolie
Franky
Giovanni Ribisi
Dex
Michael Gambon
Paley
Bai Ling
Mysterious Woman
Omid Djalili
Kaji
Laurence Olivier
Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kerry Conran
Writers: Kerry Conran, Jesse D'Angelo
Languages: Tibetan, German, English
Countries: Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 83% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Tibetan, German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

207+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kerry Conran, shot by Eric Adkins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kerry Conran directs. Eric Adkins behind the camera. Edward Shearmur scores. Sabrina Plisco cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Tibetan, German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 83% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 22 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Tibetan, German, English.
5International production across 3 countries: Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America.
6207+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Kerry Conran, shot by Eric Adkins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Sabrina Plisco shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Who will save us?".
12IMDB entry: tt0346156 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Eric Adkins
Original score: Edward Shearmur
Editing: Sabrina Plisco
Production design: Kevin Conran
Costume design: Kevin Conran
Makeup / hair: Betty Glasow
VFX supervisor: Tim Alexander
Sound: Todd Toon
Stunt coordinator: Franklin Mark Henson
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $70,000,000
Box office: $57,958,696
Return: 83% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Also by

Kerry Conran

The World of Tomorrow
2005 · ★ 6.6

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-12-21
★ 7/10
When some eminent scientists start to go missing, journalist “Polly” (Gwyneth Paltrow) finds herself embroiled in a plot that seems to involve some enormous great robots and, of course, the end of the world as we know it. She becomes even more convinced when “Dr. Jennings” (Trevor Baxter) gives her what snippets he knows about the scheme - and that may well centre around the long-absent and enigmatic “Totenkopf”. Pretty much out of her depth, she seeks the help of her ex “Joe” (aka “Sky Captain” - Jude Law) and with the help of his right hand man “Dex” (Giovanni Ribisi) tries to find the source of these increasingly audacious robots - both the walking and the flying kind, and hopefully thwart a master plan about they (and we) know little about. When “Dex” is kidnapped, they have to elicit the help of “Franky” (Angelina Jolie) and her amazing, Union Jack-sporting, airborne warship and soon find themselves deep amidst the snowy Himalayas where they think “Totenkopf” has his lair. Now I did like the look of this film. It reminded me a little of the old “Flash Gordon” escapade-driven serials from the 1930s, filmed in a slightly tinted monochrome with plenty of action and hammy performances augmented stylishly by quite an exciting range of versatile gadgets and whole scale destruction that ensues before denouement delivers it’s admittedly fairly predictable conclusion. It is a bit long and perhaps the less said about some of the dialgue the better, but it’s my kind of boy’s own adventure and I did quite enjoy it.

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