Sky High
Tags: good versus evil

Plot synopsis:
Will Stronghold begins ninth grade at Sky High, a high school that exclusively teaches teenagers with superpowers. Will's parents are The Commander and Jetstream, some of the world's most famous superheroes. Will's best friend, Layla, who happens to have a crush on him, has the power to manipulate plant life. Will is anxious about attending Sky High, located on a floating campus reached by a flying school bus, because, unbeknownst to his parents, he has not developed any super powers. On the first day, he and the other ninth graders are harassed by a trio of bullies: Speed, a burly senior with super speed, Lash, a skinny senior with extreme flexibility, and Penny, a senior cheerleader who can clone herself. Because of his lack of powers, Will is slated to enter a curriculum for "Hero Support" and becomes a sidekick. His classmates include Ethan, who melts into a fluid; Zach, who glows in the dark; Magenta, who transforms into a guinea pig; and Layla, who joins the class in protest against the two-track nature of the school's education system. The class is taught by The Commander's former sidekick, "All American Boy."
Will learns that not everybody gets powers, and there are such cases of those who have two superpower parents do not get any superpowers, such as the Bus driver Ron Wilson. The Commander is unaware that his son has been relegated to Hero Support, and shows Will his hidden trophy room. He is particularly proud of the mysterious weapon, "The Pacifier", which he took from his science-themed nemesis, Royal Pain, years ago. Unknown to either of them, Royal Pain, who had been presumed dead, watches the exchange from a hidden camera in one of the other trophies. As Will settles into Sky High and makes friends with the other sidekicks, he comes into conflict with pyrokinetic student, Warren Peace, whose supervillain father had been imprisoned by The Commander. During a fight between the two, Will demonstrates super strength, impressing Gwen Grayson, a beautiful and popular "technopath" who controls machines with her mind. Will is subsequently transferred to the "Hero" track and begins spending more time with Gwen and her clique of friends, ignoring the sidekicks and Layla, who reveals to Warren that she has loved Will for a long time. On the day before the dance, Gwen tricks Will into throwing a party at his house, and uses Speed to steal the Pacifier when she seduces Will into showing her the Secret Sanctum. After Gwen lies to Layla, who shows up to investigate the noise and believes the lie, Will breaks up with Gwen, refusing to attend the dance, even though his parents were invited as honored guests. Later, he looks through his father's old yearbook and sees a student who resembles Gwen. Believing that the student is Royal Pain and that Gwen is her daughter, he rushes to the dance.
At the dance party, Gwen reveals that she is actually Royal Pain. During her previous confrontation with the Commander, the Pacifier, which is meant to turn its target into an infant, had malfunctioned, turning her into a baby instead, thus faking her suspected death. She has since waited sixteen years for revenge. With the help of Speed, Lash, and Penny, she takes over the school and uses the Pacifier to turn the faculty and students into infants. After returning to school, Will apologizes to Layla, and teams up with Warren, the sidekicks and Ron Wilson to try to save the day. The sidekicks demonstrate their heroism after Royal Pain sabotages the school's anti-gravity drive and their powers come in handy restarting it. Meanwhile, Will discovers that he has Jetstream's powers of flight when he is thrown off the edge of the school grounds and prevents the campus from falling using his two abilities. Gwen and her henchmen are defeated and arrested and the faculty and students are returned to their proper ages. Will and Layla kiss, and a voiceover at the end reveals that they become a couple, he and Warren became best friends, and Ron Wilson gained superhuman powers after falling into a vat of toxic waste, thus becoming a superhero.

Review: Kanzaki is a detective searching for a serial killer who is killing young women and keeping their hearts.
On his wedding day his wife becomes the killer's next victim sending Kanzaki on a quest for revenge to murder the person who killed his wife.
Part love story/supernatural ghost story/action movie.
Go through the gate and be reborn, become a ghost, or take revenge and kill, and end up in hell.....Ryuhei Kitamura, who directed the action packed Azumi, tones down the violence here, but still stages some impressive action sequences.
And the love portion of the story works well, both for the detective Kohei, and his bride Mina, but also the bond between the killer, her boss (who needs the hearts for a ritual) and the boss's sick wife.
Not everything is as clear cut as it would seem to appear here, and this is a refreshing change.Although I've not read the comic book, as a movie it is very impressive, with a lot of imagination.
If only writers and directors in Hollywood and the west could come up with ideas this imaginative.This is a movie worth checking out..
Based on the blurb, I was expecting a supernatural-serial killer movie.
It's very intelligent, thought provoking, yet also full of action scenes (mostly sword-fights).The heart of this film is very existentialist.
There's a lot of minor characters, but all have very distinct personalities.I thought the sword fighting scenes were fairly impressive, especially the scene at the temple gate.The pacing is somewhat slow, but I found it gripping.
Yumiko Shaku from "Princess Blade" plays Mina who is killed at the beginning of this movie.
Normally I drop DVDs when I read things on the back cover like "Killer cuts the hearts out of his victims" etc., but "Sky High" is the exceptional case of a movie that has a fantasy story with interesting characters, lots of sword fights and even the dreadful serial killer theme and adds it up to something fresh.
I think I have now seen all of his movies (Heat After Dark, Down To Hell, Versus, Azumi, Aragami, Alive......
This definitely sits in my top 3, with Versus and Azumi.Anyone familiar with Kitamura's films will recognize his style immediately.
Fantastic cinematography, digitally assisted effects, hyperkenetic fights, and story lines that at best can be described as complicated.
He seems to weave a mythology into most of his work, and it all seems very new and interesting.In any case, Sky High really got to me because the world he spins here has really defined rules, and they are played to the best of their limits.
We know that the death of one character will cause a chain reaction in both the living and spirit world, and that was really intriguing.The film has flaws, to be sure.
This is the kind of movie that looks good enough to have a very wide theatrical release (except for the demon at the end, what was with that?) and do well once word of mouth got around.Anyway, highly recommended viewing.
I saw someone who really ranted about this piece, but I guess it was another Hollywood fan because Kitamura is, as always, bending the borders a bit and I do understand if the inveterately Hollywood fans will find this "controversial", by judging the camera work, plot, scenes e.t.c. The scenery in "Sky High" is lovely!
I believe Kitamura is a genius,but most people in this forum do not understand what he was trying to accomplish.The story lines in(Sky high,Versus) are basically about death and the many beliefs that are out there, about the subject.In Versus(the resurrection is mentioned)in Sky High(reincarnation, and your belief determines how you will end up in the after life).Kitamura's ability to take the right music with the right scene is staggering.The man is a true talent.Some of the comments I have read in this forum is just amazing.One person says the sword play was really weak.Once again you have someone that cannot follow a story.Ordinary people who were just about to marry and has her heart ripped out by a rich man who thought money could buy everything until his wife meet with some unfortunate accident.The point is if you have never picked up a sword how well do you think your sword play would be?Sky High is truly a great movie!.
At my age of 52, I actually like it when a film proceeds not always at full speed, but lingers on one detail or another.My biggest enjoyment was to see Franz Schubert's String Quartet in D minor (D.810), with variations on Death and the Maiden, being played at the concert hall - until dripping blood interrupted it...
But it's just a fantasy story, and quite enjoyable as such - and a big box of eye candy (take the curved corridor with reflecting walls as just one example).I find it a good, strong movie which I can well recommend.
If you love Stargate, you also find a touch of that in Sky High :^) Also, the last split-second (Mina points her sword at you and says "Go!") raises memories of the famous shoot-at-audience scene from Great Train Robbery (1903)..
As with many of Ryuhei Kitamura's film, Sky High displays plenty of great ideas (a serial killer ripping people's hearts out, the gates of Rage, where murdered people go and are given three choice - heaven, earth, or hell), an genre bending story (sword play, horror, sci-fi, love story, serial killer) and plenty of visual style.
However, Sky High also fall foul of Ryuhei Kitamura's usual faults.
Kitamura tries to give the story depth and meaning (failing most the time), when it should be a great popcorn flick with less depth.
Alive, another of Kitamura's films, which is very similarly themed to Sky High, also suffers these faults.
Given the right script, Kitamura will make a genuinely great film (he almost did it with Versus), but until then, he need someone to come and cut his film down..
The Best Romance/Action Film On the Face of the Planet.
This brief list is a testimony that cinematic greatness is achieved in different ways, whether it be strong dramatic elements, horrific philosophical expositions, masterful storytelling, or action choreography.
Sky High represents another title that achieves greatness like the aforementioned films achieve greatness, albeit in its own unique way.Ryuhei Kitamura has had his disappointing films (Alive, Godzilla: Final Wars), but when he is "on his game" there is perhaps no one who delivers such a perfect combination of stylish camera-work and engaging sound.
Virtually every action scene is preceded by ultra-cool character mannerisms supplemented with an excellent score.
Sky High is a cornucopia of amazing images and sounds that puts most every other film to shame.
Killing is not simply an act to end life, but instead is used to serve a specific eternal purpose.
The originality of Sky High is obvious in that it represents the act of killing as a form of self-sacrifice for the betterment of someone else.
It's a very unique and breathtaking play on an old concept.Many movies have tried to bridge action and romance genres, but few have succeeded.
In The Bride With White Hair (1993) the man totally discounts the word of his alleged lover regarding a murder, which provides an excuse to start the final action scene, but at the same time invalidates their entire relationship.
In other words, blending action and romance is just as difficult as creating an effective drama, and most attempts miss the mark quite badly.Sky High, on the other hand, is the perfect example of internally consistent character action that maximizes the believability of the primary love relationship.
Character action is not introduced merely to start fights, but instead represents a logical decision with reference to a specific lover.
The primary love relationship is developed throughout the entirety of the film and culminates in the main character's change of philosophy, of which his love for his deceased wife serves as the primary catalyst.
So here we have a film that succeeds in introducing 3 separate love relationships that are consistent with character action, while most other action/romance movies fail to produce 1.
Kitamura chose to ground most of the action with realistic sword maneuvers, similar to The Hidden Blade (2004), while adding a few supernatural elements along the way.
In this sense, Sky High is a different sort of action film that relies on situational excitement over choreographical complexity, and it works very well.I'm sure that I'll be criticized for giving an action/romance like Sky High a rating of 10 out of 10, but in all honestly – I don't care.
Sky High is simply the best action/romance film on the face of the planet.
I dare someone to cite another similar film with an equal mastery of visual/audio technical skills, an equally original take on killing, similarly effective situational fighting, and character action that is perfectly consistent with the romantic elements.Good luck to you on that challenge..
Although this isn't like 'Versus' or 'Azumi', it plays along the same sort of line with the action and story.
The action's incredibly exhilarating, filled with impressive sword fights and stunning magic effects but this gets sadly overshadowed by the film's slow pace and some uninteresting characterisation.Overall, this is a visually adequate but slight action thriller with a good amount of action to make this overly bearable for fans of the 'Kill Bill' series..
It looked like something you would see on TV, but in full you can really tell it is a movie.
The film shows an interesting version of heaven and hell.
You would expect the special effects to be high, but all you get are some interesting sparks added to some cool sword fighting scenes.
Yumiko Shaku does an OK job and has a cool fight scene, but that is about it.
Then the "bad guy" is played by Takao Osawa which was probably my favorite performance in the film.
This film is like a fantasy and a horror piece put into one.
A great looking & very well made film, yet still a little disappointing.
Well, I was expecting the worst from Sky High after hearing lots of bad reports, so maybe having low expectations helped - because I absolutely loved it.
To me it was his best film since Versus, and leaps and bounds above Azumi.Personally I thought Versus had a much stronger story and a better way of telling it than most of Kitamura's films (especially Azumi), but I seem to be in a minority there.
I think Sky High still has weaker storytelling than Versus, simply because it is far less economical.
In fact I'm kind of glad the extended cut on the R2J special edition doesn't have subtitles, because the theatrical cut is already 2 hours and could have benefited from a little more trimming.The action scenes certainly aren't up to the level of those in Versus, and anybody looking purely for action is sure to be disappointed.
it's a very ambiguous and vague set of ideas but I find that all the more interesting I think.Overall, it's a film with flaws (that are partly attributable to short budget/schedule and partly to Kitamura's lack of maturity as a director) but one that I found much more interesting than I expected from the reviews.
Oh, some of the acting is really bad I should mention (why anybody decided giving Yumiko thingy another acting job was a good idea after Princess Blade I don't know), but on the plus side the film has an extremely high quotient of gorgeous women (oh, maybe that's why).
I thought that was the unfathomably gorgeous Kanae Uotani as Rei, but she's not credited on IMDB as such - so which new incredibly gorgeous actress was it?Anyway, I'm one of the few people that really enjoyed ALIVE as well, so if you didn't like that then don't get too excited about SKY HIGH from my recommendation :p.
Kanzaki is a detective who's working on a case involving woman having their hearts cut out.
On his wedding day he finds Mina, his fiancé, has been killed the same way.
At the Gates of Heaven she is faced with a choice: go to heaven and await reincarnation, become a ghost to walk the Earth forever, or kill someone who wronged her, but go to hell for eternity.
She must find a way to stop Kanzaki from killing her murderer so he doesn't fry in hell.
This cut differs from the Theatrical one as there's much more dialog (which doesn't really flesh out the movie that much more) and the ending fight scene seems a tad longer.
Kitamura finally gives us a story..
Ryuhei Kitamura's films seem to be built entirely on the strength of his visual style.
I figured I'd had enough after checking out Versus, Alive, and Azumi, ready to write Kitamura off as a perpetual B-Movie factory.Just by chance I happened upon a cheap copy of Sky High at the local FYE, and the synopsis piqued my interest.
He restrains himself from the campy action scenes of the aforementioned films, instead presenting competently staged fights that didn't entirely leap beyond plausibility.
For the first time, I found his story to be engrossing and actually cared about his characters.This film has bought Ryuhei Kitamura a new respect in my eyes, because I know now that he can make a real film.
On the page for Ryuhei's film are actually from Disney's, someone should get that corrected.The movie is about a madman, Kudo, that is trying to summon a demon by way of cutting out the hearts of some girls.
One of these girls ends up being the fiancé, Mina, of detective Kanzaki.It is a really good story and plot.
It doesn't have plot holes nor is it a vague movie with horror and fighting.
I like Ryuhei Kitamura movies.
"Sky High" is a Ryuhei Kitamura film, alright.
So if you really want to see this film, if you feeling that you don't want to miss one of Ryuhei Kitamura experiences, watch it, but don't expect for masterpiece.
Sky High is a occult sci-fi starring Yumiko Shaku.
Kudo and Miwa is collecting six hearts from women who used to be the keeper of gate of death to bring back Kudo's fiancé back to life.
Kudo first is skeptical, but later believes what Kishi is saying, and together they go off to stop Kudo.Yumiko Shaku can play a part of ordinary intellectual woman, but she excels in playing a lead in sci-fi movie.
I have a feeling this movie is done shooting in less than a week.If you don't have any expectation, want to see the funniest homemade sword fight video or perhaps interested in a unique brainstorm, this one just maybe your cup of tea..
I had been looking forward to watching this film for a long time.
I read that it wasn't the director's (Ryuhei Kitamura) best film and having seen 'Versus', 'Azumi' and 'Godzilla: final wars'.
The story is quite good, the acting is OK, much of the directing is good, sometimes very good, but surprisingly many of the fight scenes appear little more than opportunities for the antagonists to pose about like power rangers with swords, which had me thinking 'get on with it'.
I don't expect none-stop action in Ryuhei Kitamura's movies, but the action scenes don't come close to those in 'Azumi' or 'Versus'.Very often I'll watch a film thinking this could of been a great film, but sadly we ended up with only a good film.
'Sky High' could of been great, but settles for good.
One of the things I have come expect from the director is originality, sadly this film had little, borrowing heavily from other films.
Sky High 	This movie has a lot to do with why I enjoy Asian films.
She ends up at the Gate of rage and is given ten days to decide between 3 choices basically come down to heaven, hell or get revenge and go to hell.While making her decision she and her still alive husband(who can't see or hear her) discover that she was the victim of a madman who is stealing the hearts of the women who in between lives had served the as the guardian of the gate.
Swordplay, CGI effects, Strong women characters and a little gore all help Sky high worth a rental.
While the plot and the story are far from perfect it is a cool film from Kitumara the director who made popular Swordplay films Versus and Azumi.
I thought all four films were good but I think Sky high and Alive involve better more developed storylines..
Beautiful.The whole cast gave some great performance, but it was Yumiko Shaku's performance that blew me away, the end scene was just very sad and emotional, it was beautiful acted out, when Mina must say goodbye to her lover.
The one thing, I would like to have seen done better was the action, but Mina's climactic battle shut me up.Simply beautiful..
Highlander + Ghost = Sky High.
Basically, Sky High concerns a young woman who is killed on her wedding day.
She finds out what happens after death, which leads to all sorts of mystical mayhem, including sword fights, babes, otherworldy warriors and some really nasty bad guys.It's directed by Kitamura of Azumi fame.
It's not really an action movie per se, but the last twenty minutes is almost pure sword action.
Visually it's almost what you'd expect a supernatural thriller by Bryan Singer to look like: slightly downbeat, sober, with a blue sheen.There is quite an ensemble for the movie, and the main hero figure changes throughout.
The bad guys are pretty damn evil, and for some reason most of the cast is very attractive young women.The main problem with Sky High is the name.
Don't expect loads of gore or violence; Kitamura proves here he can tell a strong story.