"SKYLINE" (2010) Review
"SKYLINE" (2010) Review
In the wake of James Cameron’s blockbuster, ”AVATAR”, Hollywood began another spurt of alien invasion movies and television series. One of the first movies to reach the theaters in the wake of "AVATAR" was a story directed and produced by the Brothers Strause in 2010 called ”SKYLINE”.
The movie began with strange lights appearing over the city of Los Angeles. These lights drew people like moths to a flame, allowing an extraterrestrial force to swallow as many members of the entire human population as possible, off the face of the Earth. Among the people affected by the appearance of this alien invasion force is a couple from New York City named Jarrod and Elaine, who are in town to visit Jarrod’s friend, a wealthy man named Terry who is celebrating his birthday at his Marina del Rey high rise. During the party, Elaine revealed that she was pregnant. And it turned out that Terry was having an affair with his assistant, behind his wife’s back.
The following morning, bright blue lights descended from the sky, entrancing anyone who looks at them. The light turned their victims’ eyes milky white and inflamed their blood vessels, so that they stand up on the skin. Held captive by the light, humans are immobilized and engulfed by the aliens. Jarrod nearly suffered this fate, until Terry tackled him to the ground. Jarrod returned to normal shortly after. He and Terry investigated the light from the roof of the high rise, where they saw several alien ships descend over the blue lights and vacuum up thousands of entranced humans.
I must admit that I had no real desire to see ”SKYLINE”, when I first saw the trailer. It struck me as the typical science-fiction story that featured the alien invasion of Earth for minimal reasons. In the case of the aliens in ”SKYLINE”, their reasons for attempting to destroy the human population by using their brains to insert into alien husks and increase their own population. I had assumed that Hollywood would be more open to the idea of Humans invading alien worlds, after the success of ”AVATAR”, but ”SKYLINE” seemed to indicate that this will not happen in the near future. Despite my disappointment of the movie’s theme, my family and I went to see the movie. Did we enjoyed it? No. Not one bit.
Some critic by the name of Matthew Sorrento complimented the movie for re-fashioning the modern alien invasion motif as the hopeless siege that it should be, allowing humanity to be overwhelmed and defeated. I must admit that this was the only original aspect of Joshua Cordes and and Liam O'Donnell’s plot. Otherwise, ”SKYLINE” failed on so many levels. Before I castigate ”SKYLINE” to the great beyond, I must admit that on a technical level, I found Michael Watson’s cinematography impressive. The skyline of Santa Monica and Marina del Rey never looked better. It seemed a pity that the movie failed to go beyond the rooftop of the Marina del Rey high-rise condominium where one of the directors, Greg Strause, lived (located on Lincoln Boulevard). And I was also impressed by the special effects that featured the aliens and their ships, created by visual effects house Hydraulx (owned by the movie’s directors, the Brothers Strause). However, that achievement is tainted by allegations by Sony Pictures and the producers of the upcoming ”BATTLE: LOS ANGELES” that the Strause brothers used their knowledge from working on the latter film, for their own film - ”SKYLINE”. I have no idea how this conflict will resolve. I can only hope and pray that ”BATTLE: LOS ANGELES” will prove to be a better film.
Overall, ”SKYLINE” was not a good film. It sucked, if I must be brutally honest. One, the epic scope of the story was limited to a high rise in Marina del Rey, a neighborhood southwest of the Los Angeles city limits. Because of this limited setting, moviegoers never learned that other parts of the Earth had also been invaded, until the very end of the movie. I wonder if the Brothers Strause and the two screenwriters wanted to use this as a surprising plot twist. If they did, it failed. Only a dummy would have assumed that the alien invasion was limited to Southern California. Another problem that the movie suffered was lack of character development. I will hand it to screenwriters Cordes and O’Donnell for setting up possible character conflicts. One of those conflicts arose between Jarrod and Elaine over her pregnancy. He was reluctant to face fatherhood and she felt resentment toward his reluctance. Elaine also expressed fear over the possibility of Jarrod accepting a job offer from his friend, Terry and relocating to Los Angeles. And Terry’s relationship with his girlfriend Candice seemed to be on the rocks, due to an affair with his assistant Denise. But none of these conflicts were ever explored with any depth, due to them being shoved aside for the sake of the main story - the alien invasion. And the movie never revealed the professions of the main characters. If it did, it escaped my notice.
The acting in ”SKYLINE” seemed solid, but not spectacular. Eric Balfour did a solid job as the movie’s main protagonist. I could say the same about Brittany Daniel as Terry’s girlfriend, Candice and Crystal Reed as Denise. However, I must admit that I was very unimpressed by David Zayas’s portrayal of the building’s concierge, Oliver. I found his performance reeking with over-the-top machismo - especially in the movie’s last half hour. The only two performances that almost impressed me came from Scottie Thompson, who portrayed Elaine; and Donald Faison, who portrayed Terry. I especially felt that Faison’s talents were wasted in this film.
What else can I say about ”SKYLINE”? The cinematography and special effects were impressive. Most of the acting seemed solid, yet unspectacular. But the movie suffered from a setting limited to a Southern California high-rise. It also suffered from a badly written movie with a vague ending and undeveloped characters and plotlines. I gave it a second chance by renting a DVD copy. Not long after viewing the last scene, I immediately regretted my action. It was that big of a disappointment.