There isn't a frame in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow that I wouldn't pay good money to hang on my wall. A stunningly gorgeous technological achievement, the film creates an amazing fantasy universe of giant robots, kidnapped scientists, mercenary heroes and a villain named Dr. Totenkopf. The plot is nice and simple, but also breathtakingly vast, not just a jokey homage to the adventure serials of the '30s but legitimate science-fiction all its own. And the visuals, which sometimes resemble German Expressionism and other times a Miyazaki cartoon, suggest a boundless imagination given an unlimited budget. Sky Captain was actually made for a comparatively scant $70 million, making it all the more impressive.

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