SLEUTH (2007)

Michael Caine and Jude Law

SLEUTH (2007). Director: Kenneth Branagh.

Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine of Jack the Ripper), a best-selling mystery author, greets an unusual guest at his front door: Milo Tindle (Jude Law of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow), who happens to be his wife's lover. Milo hopes that Andrew will grant his wife a divorce and make things easier for everyone, but Andrew has a different plan. He wants Milo to steal his wife's jewels, get the cash so he can finance his girlfriend's expensive tastes, while Andrew will win a big cash pay-out from the insurance company. Milo goes along with this but could discover that Andrew's plans for him are much more sinister than he imagines. Then Inspector Doppler rings the doorbell ... 

Jude Law, not Helmut Berger

This remake of the 1972 Sleuth casts Michael Caine in the role originally played by Lawrence Olivier. While Caine can't quite compare to Olivier, he is still excellent, as is Law as Milo, who in this version is an actor (which makes more sense than his being a hairdresser as in the original). This version has a screenplay by Harold Pinter, who discards Andrew's obsession with games and curious memorabilia, and makes significant changes to the third act. Pinter adds a psychosexual element, a homoerotic tension between the two men, that may be completely faked by both parties or have some underlying truth to it. (The role of Milo would have been perfect for a young Helmut Berger.) In the long run, it doesn't matter, as this whole business just comes off as contrived, phony and unconvincing. As in the first version, the wife never appears, although she does arrive at the door, unseen, in the remake. Considering Pinter's touches -- that is the supposed, somewhat silly, bisexual twists in this -- you half expect RuPaul to walk through the front door (wouldn't that have been a trip!) Yes, the remake might as well have gone all the way and made the unseen lover a man. Sleuth should best be viewed as a splendid acting exercise for two very talented thespians. Jude Law also reprised a role originally played by Caine when he starred in the superior remake of Alfie. 

Verdict: Very well-acted, edgier than the original and less comical, but still not as good. **1/2. 

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004). Director/writer: Kerry Conran.

This is an unfortunate attempt to recreate the excitement and craziness of the old Republic serials with some high-tech effects and computer imagery (so much of it that the movie almost resembles a cartoon). The movie takes place not in the future but circa World War Two, and features a battle between the heroic Sky Captain (Jude Law), a Blackhawk-type mercenary, and the evil Dr. Totenkopf, who attacks New York City with giant robots, and forces scientists to create strange animals (including, inexplicably, an elephant shrunken to the size of a stuffed toy). Totenkopf's plan is to build a space ark that will take his animals off into the cosmos while the Earth itself is vaporized. Helping Sky Captain is the intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and – in what amounts to a bit – female pilot Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie). Giovanni Ribisi is the captain's pal and associate Dex, who is kidnapped at one point. Although there are some fine FX and interesting scenic design and a few exciting moments (including the climax on the space ark) Sky Captain is never as entertaining as any of those old Republic serials, and both continuity and story are stilted, to say the least. Law is better in the heroic part than one would imagine, and Paltrow is also good as his partner-in-peril. The tongue-in-cheek script has some amusing moments, but after awhile its cliches become wearisome. In an improbable bit of stunt casting “Sir Laurence Olivier” is billed as Dr. Totenkopf, although the character turns out to be dead and is only seen as a withered corpse. Did the producers use Lord Olivier's voice? Who cares? Nothing could make this production particularly memorable.

Verdict: As expected, there were no sequels. *1/2.