Skyhigh

International intrigue story told with tongue in cheek. Clearly and nicely photographed, often in bright sunlight, vivid colors, beautiful babes, helicopters, and bullets. In fact, I would say that it is a good Sidaris-style movie except that it is very low on the breast count. Apart from that (admittedly important) factor, it has a simple narrative which advances without undue confusion, it has the beautiful Greek Islands, and it has comic relief from the three American kids who play the protagonists. Imagine a typical lightweight "Spring break" movie shot in in the Greek Islands instead of Florida, layer in some international espionage which never gets too dark in tone, and you have the general idea.

It was not made by Sidaris, but by another fella with "-is" at the end of his name, Nikos Mastorakis.

IMDb voters seem to have almost exactly equal regard or disregard for their directorial careers:

NUDITY REPORT

Janet Taylor's breasts are exposed subtly and briefly in an undressing scene.

About an hour into the film, several topless sunbathers are seen on one of the Greek islands. These are all extras or perhaps just people in the typical crowd.

MASTORAKIS

(4.73) - Blind Date (1984)
(3.92) - Island of Death (1975)
(3.89) - Hired to Kill (1991)
(3.84) - In the Cold of the Night (1989)
(3.64) - Glitch! (1988)
(3.59) - Zero Boys, The (1986)
(3.24) - Ninja Academy (1990)
(3.20) - .com for Murder (2001)

SIDARIS

(4.77) - Seven (1979)
(3.83) - Malibu Express (1985)
(3.56) - Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)
(3.32) - Savage Beach (1989)
(3.25) - Do or Die (1991)
(3.22) - Picasso Trigger (1988)
(3.15) - L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies: Return to Savage Beach (1998)
(3.10) - Hard Hunted (1992)
(3.09) - Guns (1990)
(3.02) - Day of the Warrior (1996)
(3.00) - Fit to Kill (1993)

DVD info from Amazon.

Widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1. Solid transfer, good colors.
a feature on "The Films of Mastorakis - Part 1"
music videos for the film's original songs: Jackie De Shannon "The Wings of Victory" and Chris De Burgh "Midnight and Vodka" Music Videos

It's a "tweener". It doesn't seem to me that the film really has a niche.

It looks good, and has some great photography of several Greek islands. It is, however, too poorly acted and too amateurish to be a good mass-market summer youth comedy, and it has too little flesh to be an really entertaining exploitation film.

After saying all that, I admit that I did watch it through without the FF button, so it is not without entertainment value. I would have found it quite watchable if it had gotten the lead actresses undressed.

The Critics Vote

no major reviews online

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary. There is a score of 8.7 posted, but that is based on six reviews. I suppose it will eventually come within the range of Mastorakis' other movies. I think it is probably neither his best nor his worst.

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-.

Based on this description, this film is a D. If it had more flesh, I would recommend it as a light-hearted summer youthploitation picture, ala Fraternity Vacation, but it doesn't really have much skin, and that strips away any good solid reason to see it.