Skyline

Trailers for films are really the hard sell these days. If you want a film that is based on no pre-existing material to make money, you have to make the trailer look good. This is exactly what Skyline did....

Brought to you from the directors of "Aliens vs Predator: Requiem" isn't exactly a great selling point, but at least the films digital effects are created by Hydraulx; the studio responsible for the amazing CGI in "Iron Man 2" and "Avatar" to name a few.

The back story of the production of Skyline is quite interesting; it was written by two people who had never written a screenplay before, the filming took place mostly in the director's apartment block and the entire budget was a meagre $10,000,000! with a beginning like this it's difficult to hate this film. That is of course, until you actually watch it.

The films mediocre plot starts off with a couple; Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and Elaine (Scottie Thompson)going to visit a friend in Los Angeles. A big party is held after their arriva. Jarrod is then offered a job with his long time friend, an offer which his girlfriend isn't happy about. After a long night everyone crashes for the night, but are rudely awoken by what seems to be an earthquake. However, it turns out to be a horde of invading aliens.

After witnessing someone being captured by the aliens things start to become clear. Anyone that looks at the light from their crafts is captured and, well, you don't want that. At this point the movie never really changes its style and the rest of the time is dedicated to everyone arguing over whether to stay put or to run.

Sigh...okay here we go. Let's do this from good to bad, shall we? There are not a lot of saving graces in Skyline, however, the visual effects are quite stunning. Despite everything and anything people will say about the film, the special effects are superb.

Right, now on to the bad. So, remember what I said about the special effects looking great? Well, this is still true, but sadly they are completely unoriginal. Most of the aliens look like something from "The Matrix", which is extremely off putting. sadly it only gets worse from here. the acting is beyond sub par, it is the epitome of terrible and most likely has a description in the dictionary next to the word crap. Each and every character is as annoying and poorly written as the last, leaving the average viewer wishing that the aliens would hurry up and kill everyone. The script is written by two of the special effects team and it would be an understatement to say that it was obvious. They wouldn't know good character development and plot intrigue if it walked up to them and introduced themselves:

"Hi, my name is character development, and this is my good friend plot intrigue. maybe you should consider getting to know us before you write a script. Oh? so you don't want to...? Okay, whatever dudes, don't say we didn't warn you!"

I apologise if that seemed like a little bit of a rant, but it really does anger me that people like them are able to get away with this sort of trash. There are lots of aspiring screen writers who will never have their films made, and yet Skyline is allowed to exist!

My favourite part of the movie (I use the term "favourite" loosely) is when they are attempting to build tension. At one point they have used sheets to try to cover up the windows to avoid being seen. Then the unthinkable happens and one of the sheets falls allowing everyone to be seen. They all gasp and look shocked while the music swells to convey the mood. I, however, feel that it didn't come across quite like the meant it to. Instead of thinking, "Oh my God! They'll be killed!", I burst out laughing, as did most of the people in the cinema.

Nearly there everyone...nearly there. In short, Skyline is not worth seeing. It saddens me that I have actually helped them by going to see it, giving them the opportunity to make more films. Modern day films shouldn't just rely on good special effects, it isn't enough. As specially since every other aspect of the films is utter horse sh*t! Don't waste your time...I imagine having your toenails removed with pliers is actually more entertaining.

I think everyone would be a little better off if they take the film's tag line to heart, and never look up....

Rating 1 out of 5

See it if you liked:
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem
Independence Day
War of the Worlds

What does IMDB say?

Review by Stephen King