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Review

Glorious visual effects and a sleek art-deco production design dominate this brisk throwback to the gee-whiz sci-fi serials of the '30s. Ace pilot Law and intrepid reporter Paltrow are bickering former flames thrown into a globe-trotting pre-WWII adventure after giant robots and UFOs attack New York City. The chipper leads generate some sparks and the entire project is a designer's wet-dream, but the lack of spontaneity inherent in the film's studio-bound all-green-screen shooting soon takes its toll: character and story are overshadowed by striking digital scenery as the sketchy plot hopscotches from one enormous set piece to the next without ever gaining emotional momentum. Though writer/director Conran was clearly enthusiastic about this pet project, it plays like a feature-length moving-postcard homage to just about every sci-fi/action serial and film he's ever seen, minus the heart and soul that make the most classic adventure/fantasies so thrillingly resonant. Jolie's midway entrance as a slinky British air boss livens things up considerably, and look sharp for the ghost of the late Sir Laurence Olivier, who appears in a pivotal cameo.

 -- Steven D. Segal