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Sky High
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 29
  3. Negative: 2 out of 29
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  1. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    From a pure entertainment perspective, it is arguably the most enjoyable motion picture of the season. Sky High is funny, smart, energetic, subversive, and has a few substantive things to say.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    80
    A likable mix of laughs and wacky action sequences.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
    80
    Surprisingly good.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: Caroline Westbrook
    80
    As derivative as it all may be, it's still superb entertainment.
  5. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    80
    Kurt Russell is adorably self-mocking as the cluelessly enthusiastic dad in his dorky superhero uniform, and even the spiffy effects lack self-importance. "The Incredibles" it ain't, but Sky High will do nicely.
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Joe Leydon
    80
    Smartly written and sprightly played, Sky High satisfies with a clever commingling of spoofy superheroics, school-daze hijinks, and family friendly coming-of-age. dramedydramedy.
  7. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    80
    With one foot planted in the world of comic book fantasy and the other firmly stuck in the grim realities of high school, this is one of those rare family films that truly work for the whole family, even if Mom and Pop might find themselves needing earplugs during some exceedingly long and loud passages.
  8. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Robert K. Elder
    75
    Sky High doesn't aim for the highbrow and doesn't employ lowbrow toilet humor. Instead, it hits the exact middle -- a bull's-eye worthy of a superhero.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    75
    Sky High gets Kurt Russell back to his retro Disney roots, and he's still in good enough shape at age 54 to wear a supernatural hunk's cape.
  10. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jason Anderson
    75
    An engaging and surprisingly sharp allegory about high-school hierarchies and adolescent growing pains.
  11. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    75
    For those of us who wish that John Hughes' "The Breakfast Club" had kept the cheeky tone of Hughes' "Sixteen Candles," what ensues is the best Hughes farce that Hughes never made about adolescent snobbery and heartbreak as well as adult obtuseness.
  12. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    75
    A clever blend of the high school comedy and the superhero genre.
  13. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Matt Singer
    70
    Clunky and shamelessly transparent, but it's also charmingly earnest, and well designed for kids.
  14. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    70
    The supporting cast is strong, featuring Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce Campbell, Lynda Carter, and Cloris Leachman.
  15. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    This zippy Disney adventure-comedy, crammed with special effects, asks that age-old rhetorical question, "Is there life after high school?," and answers it with a cheerful "Not really."
  16. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Brown
    67
    The flick is best in its bittier moments (watch for the stellar cameos), and there's nothing to trouble the tots.
  17. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    63
    A diverting family comedy that at its best aims to be a live-action "Incredibles" and at its middling a live-action episode of "Kim Possible."
  18. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    63
    A squeaky clean, family-friendly comedy that merely sounds like an unreleased Cheech and Chong romp.
  19. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    63
    As a superhero movie, it's something of an underachiever, missing out on easy opportunities to push the idea to the next level.
  20. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Jane Horwitz
    60
    A slight but sure-footed, live-action comic fantasy.
  21. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Christy Lemire
    58
    So funny and sweet and observant - and so much warmer than other family films that feign hipness through product placement and pop culture references - you won't mind that the steps feel familiar.
  22. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    58
    More silly than funny.
  23. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    50
    Hasn't a single original idea in its bird brain. But it clowns around just enough while sitting in the dunce chair that after a while it's mildly amusing.
  24. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    50
    Here's a tagline for Disney's Sky High: "Like Harry Potter, only stupider!"
  25. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    50
    The film is so harmless, and the young actors try so hard, that it's difficult not to have some fun.
  26. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    50
    An affable, breezy, but undistinguished kiddie comedy.
  27. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    40
    Weighed down with gimmicks and special effects, a number of which are far from special, Sky High is best left to 10- to 14-year-olds because it's not likely to do much for older audiences and is too violent for the very young.
  28. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    30
    This limp, forgettable fluff is as preachy and heavy-handed as the "Goofus and Gallant" cartoons that a generation of children far less media-savvy than today's recognized as ham-fisted lessons in good behavior masquerading as funny strips.
  29. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    30
    It's inoffensive and sports a positive "be yourself" message that's obvious enough to be seen from space without benefit of hero-vision, but really, there's very little that's super about it.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. F-XT
    3
    Oh! please not another one of thoses movies, i seen it in theaters and just the name sounded bad.
  2. Zilcell
    6
    Its probably the most formulatic superhero movie of all time but it has an interesting story and the characters are much better than they could have been.… Full Review »
  3. Halfwelshman
    7
    For a family-friendly comedy film, Sky High is surprisingly self-aware, often quite clever in its deconstruction of superhero mythos and packed with plenty of good jokes. The cast are great across the board - the youngsters Michael Angarano and Danielle Panabaker make likable protagonists and their characters Will Stronghold and Layla Williams actually develop over the course of the story, and the supporting cast all add something to the film. Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston look like they're having a lot of fun playing Will's super-powered parents (complete with tribute-to-Clark Kent spectacles as a disguise), Steven Strait is much better in this than he was in that colossal turkey The Covenant, and plays a pleasingly complex character, the solitary bad-boy Warren Peace, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also good as the seemingly perfect Gwen Grayson and Bruce Campbell shouts a lot and wears some rather fetching gym shorts, which is awesome. The film works on multiple levels, as a tongue-in-cheek superhero parody, as a high-school rom-com and as a coming-of-age family drama. The finale may be a bit messy, and some of the effects a bit ropey, but that shouldn't ruin your enjoyment of this undeniably fun adventure for all ages.… Full Review »
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