At Sky High, just like any other high school, new students are liable to be shoved in a locker or given a 'swirlie,' the only difference being that the antagonists may happen to have superpowers. Bummer. At this veritable Hogwarts for superheroes, Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is eerily reminiscent of Harry Potter - the awkward kid with famous parents and of whom greatness is expected.
Will's parents are the greatest superheroes on earth, The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston), who naturally can't wait for their son to join them in the family business. There's only one problem; Will hasn't actually acquired his superpowers yet, and is therefore fast-tracked into the 'sidekick' stream at Sky High.
What's most impressive about Sky High, along with some witty dialogue, is that it tackles its issues head-on, giving the movie considerably more depth than the usual Disney fodder.
One of the major issues Sky High touches on is the high expectations Will's parents heap upon him. Russell plays the ultimate 'hockey dad', only instead of a beer belly and endless supply of referee taunts, he sports a spandex suit and superhuman strength. Of course, he dreams of his son becoming much more Bruce Wayne than Wayne Gretzky, too.
The other relevant issue Sky High takes a stab at is the increasing fractionalization of today's high schools into distinctly defined 'cliques'. Only instead of cowboys and jocks, Sky High is cut cleanly down the middle into the superhero and sidekick crowds. As you can guess, it is up to Will to bridge the divide.
These are the elements that hopefully can make this movie bearable for those buying the tickets, and providing the carpools to the theatre - the parents - because this movie was made for the kids, and Disney makes no attempt to cover it.
The target audience would probably be more usefully informed by a sixth-grader's review, as Sky High alternately borrows from The Incredibles, the Magic School Bus and Power Rangers.
Yes, there is a good chance the movie will play out exactly the way you decided it would halfway through, but just because my mind (and most adults) are jaded by a lifetime of Hollywood endings doesn't mean it won't be edge-of-your-seat suspense for the elementary schoolers on hand.
So who am I to judge whether this movie is 'good' or not? I'll let the gleeful giggles from the smiling munchkins leaving the theatre tell the true story, even if they did have the first-big-screen-movie-ever look plastered all over their faces. Heck, I probably would have bought the action figure 10 years ago myself.
