Many parents and politicians across the country will present a unified front over one thing: they will complain about the lack of family viewing options coming from Hollywood. They will be turned off by any violence, strong language or promiscuity that comes from many of the PG-13 rated films that are being released. For those people, they will find the new film Sky High a welcome relief. It is rated PG and opens on July 29.
The story centers on a boy named Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano, Almost Famous) during his freshman year at Sky High . This isn’t your regular high school though, this school takes place in the sky. Kids are not regulated to groups named “jocks” or “geeks”, but instead called “sidekicks” or “heroes.” This is because this is the first and only high school for kids with superhuman powers. No kid wants to be a “sidekick”, but for Will the pressure to become a “hero” is greater then most because his parents are the most legendary super heroes around. Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston star as Will’s super hero parents, known as Commander and Jetstream. When they are not saving the world, they are Steve and Josie Stronghold, a very successful real estate sales couple.
For any kid having two super hero parents would be a blessing, but for Will it is a curse. He can not find his own power and does not have the courage to tell his parents this truth when he is labeled a “sidekick.” What’s worse is that during his first day of school he falls head over heels for the senior girl(Mary Elizabeth Winstead, The Ring 2), immediately clashes with the school bully (Steven Strait, in his acting debut) and an overbearing gym teacher (Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead).
Will’s only safe heaven is through the other kids who are labeled “sidekicks”, and that includes his childhood friend (Danielle Panabaker, Surviving Christmas). But when Will does discover his superpowers, he is the only one who can save his friends, family and Sky High from an evil villain. Will he save the day? Remember folks, this is a Disney movie.
I am not the target audience for the film and I believe kids who are between the ages of six and nine might actually enjoy it. For me, I wanted that ninety-five minutes of my life back. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad. I just laughed in spite of it all because although the film is targeting a young demographic, who are very sophisticated today; maybe too sophisticated. Because of this, I can’t believe they will be impressed with the amateurish special effects in the film. The action sequences in the film make the film look much cheaper than it probably actually was to make.
I give the film some credit for trying to base the film in reality, having Will deal with many high school issues. It’s not able to have that weight ...
