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SKY HIGH

"At Last, A Fun Comic Book Movie!"

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What You Need To Know:

SKY HIGH is the first fun, funny comic book movie of 2005. The movie tells the story of Will Stronghold, whose parents are famous superheroes, the Commander and Jetstream. When they're not saving the world the Commander and Jetstream are real estate agents, Steve and Josie. Will goes to a special high school for the children of superheroes, but doesn't seem to have any super powers. Eventually, Will discovers that he does have superpowers, but makes some critical mistakes along the way. The story involves him learning from his mistakes and trying to save the world when the villain is revealed and his parents are attacked.

SKY HIGH is hilarious. Often, it is very tongue-in-cheek, intentionally corny, yet full of great insights into high school life. Director Mike Mitchell has done a terrific job of keeping this movie on course. SKY HIGH transcends its own B-movie genre by being better made, better acted, better directed, and more fun than most comic book movies.

Kurt Russell plays the Commander and is a wonderful father figure. Virtuous love holds all the relationships together. Thus, the movie teaches virtue while greatly entertaining the audience.

Content:

(BBB, C, L, V, N, M) Very strong moral family worldview with several clearly defined moral decisions including giving up the Number One girl on campus for the girl who is really your best friend, apologizing to your parents and vice versa, taking responsibility for your actions, caring for others, and consistently trying to save and help others, with of course light Christian undertones but nothing overt; five light obscenities and two Oh, God; lots of action violence, including heavy objects dropped on people, adults turned into babies, one character throws balls of flame at another, heavy objects thrown at people, and many comic action violent activities with shape changing, but these are all done with a light touch and no on screen murders , unlike movies like FANTASTIC 4; typical high school romantic interests, mild kissing three or four times and nothing salacious; babies in diapers but no other nudity; no alcohol, smoking or drugs; and, shape-changing and deception and lying by villain but rebuked.

More Detail:

SKY HIGH is the first fun, funny comic book movie of 2005. Unlike the heavy-handed FANTASTIC FOUR, SKY HIGH keeps a balanced tone, that may appeal to a broader age range and that elicited applause at the end of the movie. Although it has some profound themes, it never strays into the darkness of many other comic book movies.

A comic book type movie created just for the motion picture medium, the movie tells the story of Will Stronghold, whose parents are famous superheroes, the Commander and Jetstream. When they’re not saving the world the Commander and Jetstream are real estate agents, Steve and Josie.

SKY HIGH opens with Will going to a special high school for the children of superheroes. During the first day, each student has to reveal their powers. One can melt, another can turn into a guinea pig, another can grow plants, another is super fast, and Will, well, he doesn’t have any superpowers, but everyone expects him to because his parents are the most renowned graduates of Sky High. Will’s best friend, Layla (who has the power to grow plants), decides to be a sidekick with Will. The sidekicks are made up of teenagers whose powers are too feeble to be superheroes.

For some reason, however, the top girl on campus, Gwen, who is a superhero and can move technology with her mind, takes a liking to freshman Will. Meanwhile, another superhero who can shoot fireballs out of his hands, Warren, resents Will because Will’s father, the Commander, sent Warren’s father to jail.

The plot thickens as it becomes clear that someone is trying to destroy the superheroes by turning them into babies. Will discovers that he does have some powers, but makes some critical mistakes along the way. The story involves him learning from his mistakes and trying to save the world when the villain is revealed and his parents are turned into babies.

SKY HIGH is hilarious. Often, it is very tongue-in-cheek, intentionally corny, yet full of great insights into high school life. Director Mike Mitchell has done a terrific job of keeping this movie on course. The plot points are unexpected, well developed and properly positioned. This is not an attempt at serious art, but it transcends its own B-movie genre by being better made, better acted, better directed, and more fun than most comic book movies.

Kurt Russell plays the Commander and is a wonderful father figure. He too has to learn from his mistakes.

Love is the bottom line that holds all the relationships together. Lust is rejected. And, self-discipline and doing the right thing are more important than romance. Thus, the movie teaches virtue while entertaining the audience. It is one of the best of the Class of 2005.