THE BIG BOASTING point of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is writer-director Kerry Conran's filmmaking technique: first capturing the actors against a blue screen, then using his computer skillz to create the necessary sets, backgrounds, explosions, aerial stunts, dinosaurs, and so on. If you've seen any of the new Star Wars movies, you'll be familiar with the kind of fantastically detailed, digital stitch witchery at work here – and you'll also recognize that the most gorgeous scenery in the world can't make up for a less-than-inspiring story. Like the original Star Wars, Sky Captain is modeled after old-school adventure serials, with dashes of film noir, comic books, and 1940s-style excitement about a "future" that just might include robot armies, ray guns, zeppelins docking at the Empire State Building, and airplanes with underwater flight capabilities. When top scientists begin vanishing, the heroic Sky Captain (Jude Law, dashing as always, if a bit bland) investigates with the sometimes less-than-helpful help of his former flame, ace reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow, stuck playing the most annoying movie character in recent memory). The bickering pair race across the globe to unearth the shadowy figure behind not only the missing eggheads but also the aforementioned robot armies; curiously enough, though, the crucial dilemma becomes the fact that Polly's camera is nearly out of film. Noooo! Despite this, Sky Captain rolls along at a relatively amusing, if predictable, clip – until the appearance of the film's most interesting character, Captain Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie), who flirts with Sky Captain and barks orders ("Alert the amphibious squadron!") with equal panache. Too bad Conrad didn't make Franky Cook and the World of Tomorrow instead – a more entertaining tale would've been a far better match for his imaginative special effects. (Cheryl Eddy)