I just saw the movie today, and it was mainly what I expected it to be: a send-up of comic book superhero cliches, from beginning to end. However, I must admit I actually laughed aloud a few times, and found myself cheering in a spot or two.
OK, quick synopsis for reference purposes: Will Stronghold is the teenage son of the world’s two greatest superheroes. Naturally, everyone expects him to be a great hero himself. One problem: he doesn’t have any powers, a fact he kept hidden from his parents. But on his first day at the superhero school called Sky High, he is found out, and relegated to the ‘sidekick’ class, where all the kids with useless powers are dumped. Not only is Will embarrassed, he also finds out one of the students is the son of an enemy of his father’s! Will makes friends among the ‘losers’ but he also dreams of dating the hottest girl in the school. Meanwhile, a shadowy figure observes all the events and plans something obviously wicked…
Ok, you don’t need to be a long-time superhero fan to see where this is all going: Will and the other ‘sidekicks’ end up saving the day from the Mystery Villain, and finally get the recognition they deserve. Even the fact that Will DOES gain powers is not a spoiler because they SHOWED it happening in the trailers! In fact, the trailers (and other publicity for the movie) give away nearly the entire plot, specially if you’re observant. By the time I went to see the movie, I had guessed virtually every plotline and how they would be resolved, with the exception of the villain’s identity (but I had a few ideas.)
I must explain that I’m the kind of movie fan who finds it hard to avoid dissecting a movie even as he watches it. With SH I spent most of the time thinking “oh, that’s a reference to (insert comic book cliche)” or “Man, that makes perfect/no sense.” The average movie viewer will probably miss the majority of the references- but the story’s message is obvious, and enjoyable despite that.
I should also point out that many of the superhero cliches parodied haven’t been in practice in comic books in DECADES- this is 50’s Superman-era stuff, not Ultimate Marvel.
That doesn’t mean I liked everything. The movie’s main problem (at least for me) is precisely that it IS a live action movie. It never even tries to be realistic; everybody acts like the comic book stereotype they represent, which is fun except it feels odd to watch real people speak and act like that. Oh, nothing wrong with that, and yes, I know there are far sillier live action movies out there (Airplane, anyone? ) but I still found it distracting. If it had been animated it would’ve worked better, in my humble opinion. In fact, I can’t help but compare SH to The Incredibles, and chuckle at the fact that the latter felt more realistic (in its plot and characterization) than the former!
Other complaints I have: the whole concept of “sidekick class”. Ok, I understand that some super powers are impractical for crimefighting, and yeah, I can see why kids with those abilities would be taught to be sidekicks so they could at least be SOME part of the hero game. But some of the stuff they taught on the class was absurd to the point of uselessness, and the school staff didn’t seem to realize how humiliating their status was for the kids in it. (Yes, I realize the movie also sends up/exploits teenage high school blues, but the adults in the movie still come across as kinda callous about it.)
I was also disappointed by the way Will got his powers. I was hoping he would be bitten by a radioactive spider, or that it would turn out to be part of the villain’s plans, or something else more complex. An honestly, it would’ve been better if he had NEVER gained any powers but still saved the day.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the characters. Yes they are all stereotypes with predefined roles, but they came across as likeable. My favorite has to be the villain, who, despite having one of the WORST villain names ever invented, was perfect in his performance and plans. Heck, he felt more like Doctor Doom that the one in the Fantastic Four movie!! And no, guessing his identity was not easy, even for me (thought I realized who he HAD to be midway thru the movie, if only because the other suspects were TOO obvious.) The rest of the cast was good too, though the kid actors are still a little green for some of the more dramatic scenes. But hey, they made me care about them, so thumbs up.
My final complaint is that the movie gets TOO perfect at the end. EVERYBODY gets exactly what they deserve, even if the story had to twist itself into knots to deliver it (for example, the way EVERY one of the kid’s useless powers was precisely what was needed to help save the day.)
Still, Sky High is exactly what it pretends to be: a light, charming takeoff on super heroes and high school, and it’s a lot of fun, specially if you’re less nitpicky that I am.
Favorite scene: The ‘American Gladiators’-style civilian rescue training.
Favorite quote: Magenta (in guinea pig form, to Coach Boomer): “Bite me.” (It’s the squeaky voice that gets me!) 
