Starring: Michael Angarano, Danielle Panabaker, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Steven Strait, Kevin Heffernan, Nicholas Braun, Dee Jay Daniels, Jake Sandvig, Dave Foley, Bruce Campbell, Lynda Carter, Cloris Leachman, Jim Rash
Directed By: Mike Mitchell
Plot: Will (Angarano) is the son of two superheros (Russell/Preston) but has yet to discover his powers. Which poses a problem as he is headed off to Sky High, the high school for superhero kids. There’s a class system at Sky High as kids are separated into Hero and Hero Support. As if been a teen isn’t hard enough.
What Works: It’s a fun movie. It moves along well. Some of the powers are cool. I think the actors were game, even if there aren’t any “great” performances here. Everyone did their jobs. No one is “bad”. I’m going to list more problems below, and it’s going to seem like I didn’t like the movie, but sometimes movies work as “dumb fun”, and Sky High was that. Yes, it is a dumb movie, but I had more fun watching it than you might think.
What Doesn’t Work: It’s really got some dumb plot twists. When you meet Gwen (Winstead), you think she’s a nice girl. Then, the film ruins the twist by showing her picture in the yearbook. It’s pretty obvious something is up when the audience recognizes her in her parents yearbook, yet no one seems to notice the resemblance, even though she’s sitting right there in front of them, and they actually talk about Sue for a minute. So, our heroes are all incredibly stupid? And later we find out she lives down the street from them? How convenient. Some of the powers are so oddly specific, like the girl who turns into a guinea pig. What a dumb power… and somehow useful in the climax? Whatever. This film insults your intelligence, but as someone who loves comic book films, I somewhat enjoyed Sky High more than I probably should have.
Final Word: It’s a dumb Disney film, but I kinda liked it? Of course, a lot of live action Disney films are silly and stupid, and yet entertaining, so that isn’t a first. It’s going to get a curve because I had fun.
Final Grade: B
