Or, how a pretty decent movie got a cheesy title.
NOTE: Contains SPOILERS. Don't read if you haven't seen the movie (and don't want me to ruin it for you).
Don't let the title fool you. Gwenyth Paltrow is the heroine of this movie.
Why do I say this? Jude Law's "Sky Captain" (nee Joe Sullivan) is much like Han Solo: he's the likeable, roguish sort who lights up the screen and makes us root for the good guys. Gwenyth Paltrow's "Polly Perkins" is whose story we follow, though. She's a reporter investigating a plot to kidnap the world's top scientists. Along the way, she finds out a lot about who the Villain is (Dr. Totenkopf, as provided by the late great Sir Laurence Olivier via archived footage) and what he wants: to destroy Earth because Humanity has become too corrupt. Much like "The Wizard of Oz," though, Dr. Totenkopf is more spoken about than shown. The main antagonist of this film doesn't have a name, and simply shows up from time to time as a mysterious ninja woman (played by Bai Ling). Both Joe and Polly have to learn to put their distrust for one another behind them and work together to defeat this minion.
"Sky Captain" is visually elegent, and largely stylistic. Meaning it's not (visually speaking) like a "normal" movie. Whatever. It grabs you and takes you into this world where the mid 1940s meets the future. Realistically, the story is so farfetched it'd be hard to suspend disbelief, but frankly, I didn't care. It was fun. And that's what so many movies lack nowadays: the fun, adventurous, over-the-top quality that used to make going to movies worth it in the first place. This is entertainment at its best, my friend, and "Sky Captain" has it in spades. Never mind that the characters are practically copied from every adventure movie ever made (with special emphasis on Star Trek and Star Wars), the screenplay and the actors give the movie enough of an edge to tweak the Adventure/Sci Fi genre in such a way that you'll find yourself just being able to relax, gobble down some popcorn, and just have a good time.
I never like to give away the ending to a movie, but I think this one has one of the best last lines of any movie. It's just two words, spoken by Jude Law: "Lens cap." Of course, to truly appreciate this, you'd have to watch the movie. I recommend it. You won't be disappointed.