Rough Trade Friday: Sky High

Disney live-action movies are a gamble in terms of enjoyment, especially these days. When I first saw the trailer for Sky High in 2005, I thought it looked like it was a low-budget insult to moviegoers everywhere. However, a couple of weeks after it came out, a few of my friends told me that not only was it well-made, but it was also a lot of fun for anyone who's ever been a fan of superheroes. So, gathering up some comrades (I've always been a fan of the theory that misery loves company), we made our way to the theater, expecting to be underwhelmed and instead finding ourselves pleasantly surprised.

Sky High focuses on a high school, sporting the same name as the movie, which trains teenagers to be superheroes and sidekicks. Enter Will Stronghold, played by Michael Angarano, who is the son of prestigious superhero couple Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). It turns out that despite Will's impressive lineage, he is totally without powers and gets put into sidekick class with the rest of his friends and eventually comes clean to his dad about his status (in a scene far more effective than when Bobby Drake revealed his mutation in X2, in my humble opinion). Eventually, Will does develop powers of his own and ends up going against some villains of his own age group, but the plot is kind of thin and forgettable.

What saves the movie is the fact that it genuinely has fun with the superhero genre and was written with a lot of really smart dialogue. Also, while the kids are clearly the stars of Sky High, there are a lot of cameos by some great comedic actors such as Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, Linda Carter, Cloris Leachman, and Kevin McDonald; every one of these actors has way too much fun with their roles and their enthusiasm is easy to get caught up with. Also, the soundtrack is composed of a bunch of 80s cover songs by groups like Bowling For Soup, Click 5, and They Might Be Giants. Take that as you will.

Ultimately, this is a film that is meant for comic nerds, but mainstream audiences will probably miss a lot of the in-jokes and references. However, seeing as how you're reading this on the comics section of a gay-gaming website... well, I don't think I even need to finish that sentence, do I?

Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Trade Paperback on 7 September 2007 · Comments (1)
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