Sky High (2005).

Review #1107: Sky High.

Cast: 
Michael Angarano (Will Stronghold), Kurt Russell (Steve Stronghold / The Commander), Kelly Preston (Josie DeMarco-Stronghold / Jetstream), Danielle Panabaker (Layla Williams), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Gwen Grayson / Royal Pain), Steven Strait (Warren Peace), Dee Jay Daniels (Ethan Bank), Kelly Vitz (Magenta Lewis), Nicholas Braun (Zachary "Zach" Braun / Zack Attack), with Malika Haqq and Khadijah Haqq (Penny Lent), Jake Sandvig and Will Harris (Lash and Speed), Lynda Carter (Principal Powers), Bruce Campbell (Tommy Boomowski / Sonic Boom), Kevin Heffernan (Ron Wilson, Bus Driver), Cloris Leachman (Nurse Spex), Jim Rash (Stitches), Dave Foley (Jonathan Boy / All-American Boy), and Kevin McDonald (Professor Medulla) Directed by Mike Mitchell (#209 - Shrek Forever After and #890 - Surviving Christmas)

Review: 
For a superhero flick that doubles as a family movie, Sky High proves to be average but acceptable fare as far as entertainment goes. It manages to present its premise and characters adequately with a share of laughs, while not being overly tongue-in-cheek, although it sometimes resembles fare you might see on television, which isn't too surprising given that Walt Disney Pictures was behind its production. Perhaps I should have expected more from a movie presenting the concept of a school attended by kids with superpowers, but on the whole the film does enough with showcasing numerous powered people while trying to juggle its story and its parts that you would expect from something relating to high school without becoming stale, with its action sequences being okay. Anyone looking for nuance in this film will be pretty dissapointed, but it will work out well for anybody willing to let things play out (no matter how silly it might seem). Although the occasional appearances by the adult actors can tend to stick out better than the child actors, the cast as a whole do well enough in making for engaging scenes that would've probably felt like TV movie fare with lesser actors. Angarano does a decent job, hitting his marks well enough to make the character useful to watch for the audience. Russell and Preston are both engaging to watch, playing the parent roles with the fair share of energy that you would expect from either of them. Panabaker and Winstead both do fine jobs, and the other members of the main kid core (Strait, Daniels, Vitz, Braun) all doing fair jobs. It is nice to see Campbell on screen for a few minutes, providing a fair deal of amusement alongside others such as Heffernan and Foley. At 100 minutes, this is a pretty breezy film to sit-through, and while it may be a bit routine in some of its choices, it will prove satisfactory for people (such as families) in the right mindset for it.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.