Skyline

[kevinknapman]

Proof that a film needs more than fancy special effects to work, Skyline is a case of nice packaging, shame about the contents. The special effects are pretty much the only thing that Skyline gets right in it's 90+ mins running time.
The story is poor, the script laughable, the direction cliched and unoriginal and the acting dire.
People stuck in apartment, try to escape, can't, go back into apartment, try again. That is the Skyline plot in a nutshell (not including the ending which I won't spoil, but you wouldn't believe anyway). Sound exciting? Not really. The occasional glimpses of the battle going on outside peaks interest for a while but not for long. I understand that most of this is for budgetary reasons (hence the use of one single location), but if you can't make it work in your favour, don't bother in the first place.
If the script were good this might not matter, but it isn't. A script that rarely makes any sense and raises more questions than answers, with a fair few dodgy lines to laugh at along the way. It's other major failing is that it gives us no good reason to care about the characters. They are only one-dimensional cliches with no depth. The characterisation is perfunctory at best. The girlfriend is pregnant. That is all there is to that character. You should at least be rooting for the characters to survive but frankly you probably won't care. A last minute attempt at tenderness is probably meant to be touching but really isn't.
The acting hardly helps. Second-grade TV acting at best. Which fittingly is where you'll recognise most of the cast from. The guy from 24, Turk from Scrubs, Angel Batista from Dexter. All completely charmless and uninteresting.
There's also one moment of quite unpleasant homophobia that seems completely out of place and unnecessary.
All this leads up to an ending that is almost jaw-droppingly bizarre, illogical and more suited to a last minute twist in a computer game than in a film. It also sets things up for a sequel which is a worrying thought. Skyline was cheap enough that a modest box office take will probably be enough to green-light a follow-up.
So yes along the way there are tonnes of flashy special effects, some of which are really good, some which aren't. There are several individual shots that are quite striking but it's not enough to hide it's failings. Not really surprising that a movie directed by two special effects artists would rely on it's visuals so much.
It's a dog's dinner of a movie that steals ideas and visuals from a lot of other sci-fi movies. Try watching without thinking of other superior movies. The Matrix, ID4, District 9, War of the Worlds.
It's a B-movie at best that should really be premiering on the Sy-Fy channel not in cinemas.

Fans of high-end apartments should have a ball though. Watch as they peer through snazzy electronic blinds, marvel as they hide behind expensive marble-top kitchen counters, gasp as they throw up in top-of-the-line bathroom fixtures. Co-director Greg Strause has a lovely apartment, and boy are you really familiar with it by the end of the movie.

[Preston1990]

There are some fantastic films about at the moment aren't there?

Unfortunately though, this isn't one of them!

The effects in this film are by far and away the best bit.
Shamefully, there is not the slightest attempt at proper character development. This, when harnessed with a particularly weak storyline, along with some bizarre and cringeworthy lines "Get down everyone!", make this a very uninteresting 92 minute clock watching marathon.

Do yourself a favour and don't waste any free passes on this one!

3 out of 10.

[Sydney_Bristow]

Fans of high-end apartments should have a ball though. Watch as they peer through snazzy electronic blinds, marvel as they hide behind expensive marble-top kitchen counters, gasp as they throw up in top-of-the-line bathroom fixtures. Co-director Greg Strause has a lovely apartment, and boy are you really familiar with it by the end of the movie.

lol that'll be me then

[andrews]

Kevinknapman and Preston1990 have helped me to make up my mind - I'm going to give this one a miss tonight, and catch up with the ironing.

[Sydney_Bristow]

Kevinknapman and Preston1990 have helped me to make up my mind - I'm going to give this one a miss tonight, and catch up with the ironing.

Me too - sounds like a complete waste of time. Saving my money for harry potter

[Preston1990]

Money!!! Tsk Tsk!

[arbrie]

This loooks really good !! Action - sci-fi !! Fantastic ! :d

[TheDude]

along with some bizarre and cringeworthy lines "Get down everyone!"

Ah, don't forget the other bombshells... "What now?" and "Let's do this"... I guessed them before they spoke!

[raj101]

mm well. i think what somes it up is this is a film for the xbox generation. massive effects, unbelievable monsters, no characterisation. i think kids who play those xbox games hav this wierd imagination aility that basically fills in any details that are missing, fits the film into their kid's bedroom universe and thus readies what is basically a set of xbox game cutscenes into an experience ready for digestion. Me, i needed maybe a bit more explanation and build up of characters/ i am suspect, in fact, that the makers were big game fans and still are.

the trouble is, that to care as an adult, you want characters not game cutscenes.

6/10 for an adult mainly for stupendous effects.
9/10 for a spotty xboxing kiddie

[TheBoySeggy]

Proof that a film needs more than fancy special effects to work, Skyline is a case of nice packaging, shame about the contents. The special effects are pretty much the only thing that Skyline gets right in it's 90+ mins running time.
The story is poor, the script laughable, the direction cliched and unoriginal and the acting dire.
People stuck in apartment, try to escape, can't, go back into apartment, try again. That is the Skyline plot in a nutshell (not including the ending which I won't spoil, but you wouldn't believe anyway). Sound exciting? Not really. The occasional glimpses of the battle going on outside peaks interest for a while but not for long. I understand that most of this is for budgetary reasons (hence the use of one single location), but if you can't make it work in your favour, don't bother in the first place.
If the script were good this might not matter, but it isn't. A script that rarely makes any sense and raises more questions than answers, with a fair few dodgy lines to laugh at along the way. It's other major failing is that it gives us no good reason to care about the characters. They are only one-dimensional cliches with no depth. The characterisation is perfunctory at best. The girlfriend is pregnant. That is all there is to that character. You should at least be rooting for the characters to survive but frankly you probably won't care. A last minute attempt at tenderness is probably meant to be touching but really isn't.
The acting hardly helps. Second-grade TV acting at best. Which fittingly is where you'll recognise most of the cast from. The guy from 24, Turk from Scrubs, Angel Batista from Dexter. All completely charmless and uninteresting.
There's also one moment of quite unpleasant homophobia that seems completely out of place and unnecessary.
All this leads up to an ending that is almost jaw-droppingly bizarre, illogical and more suited to a last minute twist in a computer game than in a film. It also sets things up for a sequel which is a worrying thought. Skyline was cheap enough that a modest box office take will probably be enough to green-light a follow-up.
So yes along the way there are tonnes of flashy special effects, some of which are really good, some which aren't. There are several individual shots that are quite striking but it's not enough to hide it's failings. Not really surprising that a movie directed by two special effects artists would rely on it's visuals so much.
It's a dog's dinner of a movie that steals ideas and visuals from a lot of other sci-fi movies. Try watching without thinking of other superior movies. The Matrix, ID4, District 9, War of the Worlds.
It's a B-movie at best that should really be premiering on the Sy-Fy channel not in cinemas.

Fans of high-end apartments should have a ball though. Watch as they peer through snazzy electronic blinds, marvel as they hide behind expensive marble-top kitchen counters, gasp as they throw up in top-of-the-line bathroom fixtures. Co-director Greg Strause has a lovely apartment, and boy are you really familiar with it by the end of the movie.

If only I'd read this first... 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back.