Sky High inhabits that sort of murky area of a being a spoof and a straightforward story at the same time, a la Galaxy Quest. Though lacking the genius of that film, Sky High nonetheless carves out similar territory.
You've discerned the pitch from the trailers: Will (Michael Angarano, frighteningly resembling a teenaged Brian Wilson) is the son of the two greatest superheroes on the planet, The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). He's headed for enrollment at Sky High, a special school which caters to the children of super-powered people. The dilemma: Will has no powers to speak of, so while everyone expects a great deal of him given his parentage, he has nothing to show for it.
Of course this being a Disney film, Will has a pining best friend, Layla (Danielle Panabaker) and a coterie of nerds who stay loyal to him up until the point he becomes popular (teen movie plot #4). There's also the 'hot' girl, Gwen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who of course becomes involved with the son of the world's greatest heroes.
The first half of the film well, no, most of it, really is ripped straight from Harry Potter. The kids are from a special lineage. They go to a special school for people with neat powers, driven there on a special bus. There are bullies; the hero is put upon by expectations of him; he must prove himself against a jerk out to get him. There's even a sorting hat, in the person of Coach Boomer (Bruce Campbell), who decides whether the new kids will be hero or sidekick. My favorite of the oddball faculty was Mr. Boy (Dave Foley, perfectly cast), the sidekick or 'hero support' teacher.
Sky High is fun despite its obvious borrowing; Russell in particular is enjoyable as the dad who never quite grew up, an amalgam of Superman and Batman and an eternal teenager. Preston makes less of an impression but has a few good scenes, mostly when sparring verbally with Russell. Angarano is fine as Will; he's not charismatic enough to carry the film, but with all the eye-popping super-hero visuals and an interesting enough supporting cast, he's fine. The big surprise for me was a character named Warren Peace (Steven Strait), a semi-bully who ends up having surprising depth.
There are some good chuckles in the film and it's a fun diversion, pretty harmless, but not up to what I expected given that the geniuses who create Kim Possible Robert Schooley and Mark McCorkle were the primary writers on this. It's cute throughout and clever in spots, but a tad predictable, and the similarity to Harry Potter pops up so often you almost wonder if J.K. Rowling will sue (not that she needs the money). I enjoyed the movie, but you could easily wait for a DVD rental on this one. Light fun, a bit of fluff, better than most of the kiddie fare out there at the moment, but nothing earth-shattering. I'd rather they go back to working on the far-superior Kim Possible, myself.
You've discerned the pitch from the trailers: Will (Michael Angarano, frighteningly resembling a teenaged Brian Wilson) is the son of the two greatest superheroes on the planet, The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). He's headed for enrollment at Sky High, a special school which caters to the children of super-powered people. The dilemma: Will has no powers to speak of, so while everyone expects a great deal of him given his parentage, he has nothing to show for it.
Of course this being a Disney film, Will has a pining best friend, Layla (Danielle Panabaker) and a coterie of nerds who stay loyal to him up until the point he becomes popular (teen movie plot #4). There's also the 'hot' girl, Gwen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who of course becomes involved with the son of the world's greatest heroes.
The first half of the film well, no, most of it, really is ripped straight from Harry Potter. The kids are from a special lineage. They go to a special school for people with neat powers, driven there on a special bus. There are bullies; the hero is put upon by expectations of him; he must prove himself against a jerk out to get him. There's even a sorting hat, in the person of Coach Boomer (Bruce Campbell), who decides whether the new kids will be hero or sidekick. My favorite of the oddball faculty was Mr. Boy (Dave Foley, perfectly cast), the sidekick or 'hero support' teacher.
Sky High is fun despite its obvious borrowing; Russell in particular is enjoyable as the dad who never quite grew up, an amalgam of Superman and Batman and an eternal teenager. Preston makes less of an impression but has a few good scenes, mostly when sparring verbally with Russell. Angarano is fine as Will; he's not charismatic enough to carry the film, but with all the eye-popping super-hero visuals and an interesting enough supporting cast, he's fine. The big surprise for me was a character named Warren Peace (Steven Strait), a semi-bully who ends up having surprising depth.
There are some good chuckles in the film and it's a fun diversion, pretty harmless, but not up to what I expected given that the geniuses who create Kim Possible Robert Schooley and Mark McCorkle were the primary writers on this. It's cute throughout and clever in spots, but a tad predictable, and the similarity to Harry Potter pops up so often you almost wonder if J.K. Rowling will sue (not that she needs the money). I enjoyed the movie, but you could easily wait for a DVD rental on this one. Light fun, a bit of fluff, better than most of the kiddie fare out there at the moment, but nothing earth-shattering. I'd rather they go back to working on the far-superior Kim Possible, myself.