Skyline (2010) User Reviews

Great visuals, soundtrack and action, story, acting and script lacking

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 28 March 2011]

I don't think Skyline is a bad movie as such. While there were better movies from 2010 such as The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Fighter and Toy Story 3, there are also worse such as Fred:The Movie, The Last Airbender, Vampires Suck and Clash of the Titans.

Skyline is not a good movie, but it isn't in my opinion bad either. If anything, my feelings for Skyline are very mixed. I have seen some comparisons to Battle:Los Angeles, and I do agree this is the better movie, while Skyline did have a lot of problems Battle:Los Angeles was clichéd, under-directed and over-edited and other than Aaron Eckhart, a decent idea and one or two decent scenes there was little of redeeming value.

Starting with the good things of Skyline, the visuals look absolutely great. The cinematography and editing are slick, the scenery is striking and the colours and lighting are bold, but the real star is the special effects which are superb. The sound is another plus, very explosive and authentic, and the soundtrack is memorable, not too generic and fits decently with the mood. Also, the action in general is explosive and exciting.

Skyline does also have its flaws though. The characters are not as clichéd or indifferent as those of Battle:LA and some of the worst of the year, but to be honest I did find some of the characterisation underdeveloped and irritating. The dialogue is often cheesy and seems to be taking an exercise in high camp, and the climax while quite freaky and atmospheric feels like a different tone to the rest of the movie and this was a tone that jarred a bit. The story in its structure is quite soap-opera-like, and can get predictable and pedestrian, the direction is sometimes good sometimes flat and the acting is also uneven ranging from over-eager to bland.

All in all, Skyline was not a bad movie in my opinion, certainly not as bad as I'd heard, but it is a hardly exceptional movie either. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Great Effects, Godawful Script

[changmoh · 3/10 · 9 November 2010]

First, let's work on some maths: "Skyline" is an alien invasion flick that has a touted US$10 million budget! This amount is a shoestring for an alien attack film - it is not even enough to pay the salary of an A-list star! So now you can do the maths and understand why there are no big stars here.

If you had seen the trailer you might have been impressed by the CGI effects of the tentacled UFOs. This is probably where all the money have gone. Everything else, from its lame script and B-grade TV stars to its sets, are all hotch-potch and downright rudimentary. It is an exploitation film that seems destined for DVD.

Synopsis: After a night of heavy partying at a posh condo in Los Angeles, a bunch of friends are awakened in the early hours by mysterious beams of light from the skyline. Those who gaze on the light get entranced - like moths to a flame and get 'burnt up'. Yup, the alien ships have landed and the survivors at the condo unit, Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his fiancée (Scottie Thompson, pictured below with Balfour), and their friends Terry (Donald Faison of TV's "Scrubs") and Candice (Brittany Daniel) must find a way to escape the aliens' grasp. But where can they run? There are so many things wrong with the movie that I don't know where to begin. The film, directed by the Brothers Strause who did the effects for "The X-FIles", centres the action inside the condo unit so much that we get the impression that LA is deserted and the only folks left are those in the half-empty building. No attempt is made to show the scope of the 'body snatching' and its effects on the millions of other city-dwellers.

Next, the main characters are being portrayed as such selfish and unsavoury people that we root for the aliens to take them away. This may be because the writers have not bothered to flesh out their backgrounds, except for a few predictable turns. The only one who comes on as real is David Sayas (of TV's "Dexter" fame) who plays the building supervisor. Also, the dialogue is lame and clichéd. The writers must have had the notion that audience interest can be sustained if they have the characters yell at one another.

There's no doubt that Strause brothers provide exhilarating special effects - but they need to work on getting a good story to go with their CGI magic. Otherwise it is just a damn waste.

not as bad as these posts claim...

[joelm1969-1 · 5/10 · 17 November 2010]

One lesson I've learned is to not read online reviews before I go see a film as I did not find this movie to be half as bad as the people on this site claim. After reading that this movie was not even worth renting and that it was the worst film ever made and then seeing it, I didn't think it came close to any of those opinions.

It was far from perfect, but as far as entertainment value I was satisfied. It kept up a good pace with semi-interesting twists and turns. I even found myself to be holding onto my seat at times wondering what was gonna happen next.

This movie was 10 times better than something like Sex and The City part 2 or Eat, Pray, Love. I suggest checking it out for yourself and not listening to the scathing reviews on this site.

Story: Boring. CGI: Terrific

[bob-rutzel-1 · 3/10 · 21 June 2011]

Strange lights awaken and beckon our little group towards them.

For almost 40-minutes you see nothing but the light that frightens and draws people towards it. The conversation among our group is stilted, and actually lacking (like you know: dead air) for the longest minutes. Were they waiting for the script to come to them? Very boring. Reminded me of the movie, THE HAPPENING where nothing happened in the entire movie.

After 40-minutes or so, the aliens make their presence known. Weird looking things. Kind of octopi with more than 8-arms going every which way. But, the CGI was terrific, I have to admit. The group tries and tries to defeat the aliens and to make some sense of all this. They should have fought with the Director, Producers and yes, of course, the script writers. I held on because the CGI was really good. Kudos.

If you had seen DISTRICT 9 (great movie, btw), then you know what happens at the end.

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

One of the worst movies of the year

[littleNero · 1/10 · 12 November 2010]

This is easily the worst movie I've seen this year. It's saying something when the writing is so bad that even an end-of-the-world alien invasion can't stop boring you senseless.

The characters are passive participants to the events around them. Sure they scream on cue, but their lives and struggles are devoid of feeling and emotions. The film lacks the frantic pace of the somewhat similar Cloverfield where the characters and their environment felt desperate and chaotic. Instead we get destruction without fear and survival without passion.

I'm a big sci-fi fan, but I honestly can't remember the last time I was this bored in the theater despite a few moments of great special effects. Avoid this movie at all costs.

Strause don't hit gold but Skyline is better than critics make out

[amesmonde · 7 March 2011]

Stop me if you heard this before. Aliens invade earth and a handful of survivors try to escape their impending deaths.

It's another War of the Worlds-esque invasion flick but what's nice about this is that it's played straight with no comedic one-liners and there's not a teenager in sight.

Directors Colin Strause and Greg Strause are no strangers to special effects after bringing to life the Predators and Aliens in AVPR (2007) and the rest of the team behind Skyline's extraterrestrials are clearly talented making the best out of a budget. It's visually wonderful, the special effects are fantastic. Nevertheless, Aliens (1986) designers and suit wearers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. creature designs appear to be an unoriginal mix of The Fly, Independence Day, Cloverfield and The Matrix.

The acting is above average and the leads including Eric Balour and Brittany Daniel carry the emotion well. David Zayas is notable as the Hotel manager but his screen time is limited. That said, the script lacks enough meaty dialogue to keep you enthralled and you find yourself waiting for more glimpses and shenanigans of the alien invaders.

Overall, it looks great but it fails to connect and grip you as much as it should. Even so it's a lot better than critics would lead you to believe and recommended to those who don't need a stereotype hero lead, Skyline 2 is more than welcome. The Brothers Strause will hit gold but Skyline just isn't it.

Whyline?

[xavboy4 · 1/10 · 12 November 2010]

It's rare that I'll give a movie an 'awful' review - I can usually find something of interest, even if it's only of interest to me! Having just been to see Skyline however, I felt numbed and cheated - I hadn't paid, but I still felt I was owed some money back... With no likable characters, a 'plot' that goes from bad to worse to literally nothing, it's difficult to recommend anything about the movie. I've already had my fingers burnt by the Brothers Strause before - when they took 2 much loved franchises in Alien and Predator and made their fans weep. That film, just like this one, has some cool looking set pieces but absolutely nothing of value to tie them together - totally refusing to give the viewer any reason to care about what they've churned out.

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Absolute crap!

[tdevereaux · 2/10 · 12 November 2010]

Skyline was probably the worst piece of crap I've seen in a long time. Just when I thought it was finally over, it got even worse. Just picture a bad version of Independence Day, but instead of following the exciting people who will save the planet, you sit in a room with the most annoying people on Earth.

I liked the concept with the Cloverfield feel without the camcorder shakiness. But you never get the feeling that you care what happens to these people. I found myself hoping they would all get killed. It was a lot like War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise, except not as good. And that was not a good movie. A movie about aliens destroying the entire world, and you spend it in one room for almost the whole film. Now this wouldn't be all bad if done right, except the actors are just props and the drama is empty and forced.

I would recommend showing it to film students as an example of how to make an action movie boring.

I found a quarter on the theater floor, it was the best part of the film

[tim_edwards · 1/10 · 20 November 2010]

Earlier in the day I picked up two tickets for Harry Potter for my daughter and myself. When it came time to leave, my son changed his mind and decided he wanted to go along as well. Unsurprisingly, the show was sold out, so I had to find something to do for 2 hours. Unfortunately, a screening of Skyline started ten minutes after Harry Potter. I made the mistake of going to that instead of taking a nap in my car in the parking lot. I never would have imagined that the end of the world could be so boring.

If the aliens need our brains, they definitely should stay away from the people that made this movie. Those brains are not going to do them any good.

Not awful, certainly not expected...

[Cambrius · 7/10 · 13 November 2010]

They drop from the sky with no warning. They do seemingly inexplicable things. They are capable of things that defy human experience. And we see it from the perspective of people we have no real connection to.

My first thoughts were something like, "How are K-Fed and Bobby Brown gonna save the planet?" Turns out, I need not have wondered.

What I thought the movie did very well was tell the story from the point of view of a handful of people that have no extraordinary attributes whatsoever. Disaster movies tend to have characters able to overcome improbable odds to somehow accomplish some measure of victory for Earth and/or humanity. Not so in Skyline. We have an apparently successful recording artist living the high life in L.A. and his friend, who possesses some measure of marketing talent. Rounded out with girlfriends, other assorted attractive female hangers-on, and what appears to be one of the security guards of the condominium complex in which the recording artist resides.

As far from "everyday normal" as this group might seem to be, they could very easily be real people, particularly in La-La Land. And the best part is that they reacted to events in a very normal, everyday human way. Weird stuff happens, and so they try to make sense of it, try to get a look at what's going on. And what they see makes no sense. There are no moments of inspired intuition, no really extraordinary feats of heroism or even ordinary ones.

Every plan of action the characters come up with fails, their safe-zones continually diminish, and characters are inexorably picked off. This is mirrored by the larger reaction of the military and their attempts to resist the alien menace. While slightly more successful in causing some injury to the aliens, their ultimate futility is seen when what looks to be an incredibly agile stealth bomber dances and dodges its way through aerial combat to release the Hail-Mary tactical nuke missile even as it is finally shot down. We follow the missile as it tracks toward the largest of alien craft and BOOM! Lots of bright light and big noise, and we see the alien vessel crashing to the ground as a smoldering wreck. Yay! But wait, holy crap, and oh noes! The aliens have regenerative/repair abilities congruent with their clearly organic-machine nature. The actors best moments come when they convey the despair and frustration of seeing every soap-bubble of hope unavoidably popped.

Earth is a rich and rare cache of resources presumably not found in many places in the vast, cold reaches of space. The aliens are here to secure their own continued survival with our delicious goodies. Our own species does this exact same thing to plants and animals across the globe. So what more motivation do the aliens need? And how could we realistically resist? None, and we can't, any more than the Amazon or marine life could. I don't know how much more "real" the story could get.

The movie doesn't satisfy the audience with a heroic victory for mankind. Or any victory, for that matter. And in this, it bucks the seemingly inescapable trend for reassuring us with some message about how adhering to noble virtues will allow us to win out in the end. To me, the film demonstrated exactly how fragile and small we and our planet are in the grander scheme of the universe. It's an ugly, cold truth, and we might prefer to be deluded that we can overcome if we just (add inspiring platitude here). But if our real-life local and global disasters are any indication, those sorts of wins only come at the very end and from the efforts of survivors after the fact. In the scenario this movie presents, we won't get that chance. Were aliens ever to come knocking, humanity as it is now is simply boned. And that's it.

Lots of people will not like or want to hear that message from a work of fiction. But I think the makers of this film deserve credit for their much more likely message of futility. It's not something we get a lot of from movies. Every now and again, it's a nice change from the improbable happy ending.

Is There Any Sci-Fi Movie It Doesn't Borrow From ?

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 3 July 2013]

After a hard nights partying a group of people in Los Angeles wake up the next morning , see bright blue lights in the distance and realise with horror the city has been invaded by aliens

In 1898 British writer HG Wells wrote a novel called The War Of The Worlds chronicling a Martian take over of Planet Earth . The work was pure fantasy at its most imaginative . The novel pushed back the very frontiers of both literature and the human imagination . It's impossible for any of us who were born in the 20th Century to realise what it must have been like to exist in a world without science fiction . Wells as did Marx and Darwin changed and shaped the world we live in . One wonders if humanity would have ever travelled to the Moon and back if it wasn't for Wells . Jules Verne did pre-date Wells and wrote of Moon travel but we wanted to go to the Moon to see if the Selenites lived there and returned disappointed when we found nothing there . Maybe we'll have more luck on Mars ? In the mean time let's hope the Hollywood hack factory doesn't dull the Wellsian dream

Step forward SKYLINE which has raped the mental corpse of Wells . Bad enough that Hollywood ripped off Wells with such films like INDEPENDENCE DAY but when a film like SKYLINE comes along and rips off a rip off that's grasping for creative straws in a stagnant sea . Every single scene here will remind you of a science fiction movie you saw from the 1950s , the 1960s , the 1970s , the ... got the idea ? Good because at least you've got an idea of your own which isn't something SKYLINE can claim

The worst thing is the premise is totally stolen without any type of logic to it . The aliens - a CGI steal from the ones seen in ID4 - come to Earth and steal human brains ! Why do they do this ? It's never explained but the whole concept collapses if given any thought . Does the alien home world have humans that are farmed for their brains ? I've got a problem swallowing this ill thought idea which only seems to exist to create a film around . Wells was rather vague about the Martians motives for invading Earth though it's insinuated Mars is dying so the Martians want to colonise Earth ( Wells of course wrote the novel as a critique against European imperialism ) while Nigel Kneale wrote his 1979 QUATERMASS serial about aliens harvesting the human race for their pheromones after a gap of 5000 years . Kneale's previous Quatermass serial from 1958 also had a premise of Martian colonisation of Earth by proxy means . You don't need to have everything spelt out to you , you don't need to believe in life on other planets to buy in to a premise by Wells , Kneale , Wyndham or any other science fiction writer but the premise must have a credibility to it . SKYLINE doesn't

Strangely interesting and stylish apocalyptic science fiction

[quinnox-1 · 8/10 · 14 November 2010]

I'm surprised this move is not higher rated. I think its one of the best science fiction/monster movies to come out in some time.

Awesome special effects in this one, with nice designs for the monsters and the alien ships and tech. The movie is creatively shot and I like how focused the plot was on the few main characters. A wonderful sense of doom pervades the whole film, with no cheap typical Hollywood miraculous escapes or happy endings. It was refreshing to see a movie focus on a grim and frightening reality of an unstoppable alien invasion without the typical cheesy silliness of movies like say, "Independence Day".

Maybe people don't like it because of its pessimistic and unrelenting dismal tone, but I appreciate a director who steadfastly focuses on this aspect of hopelessness in the face of a vastly superior advanced alien force and it makes sense and feels real because of this decision.

Another thing I enjoyed was how the movie at first seemed like it was going to be a shallow, typical Hollywood movie focused on young attractive people who like to party but then the movie shifted gears abruptly to a deadly serious tone which it then kept until the end, which I very much liked, how it faked me out in this way.

Would love to see a sequel and I think the movie hints strongly that the story is not done.

One for the sci-fi buffs

[janedoe5300 · 7/10 · 12 July 2021]

If you like all things alien, this one is for you, if you don't, you might hate it. I have nothing really bad to say about it, nothing that great either, i just enjoyed it.

Its obvious this is a low budget movie, and that most of that budget went into the special effects, which are pretty dazzling for its time!

The movie is set almost entirely inside an apartment building, but it manages to stay intense and exciting for the most part.

The characters are pretty one dimensional, nothing special, neither is the plot, but I don't expect much in the way of either from a B-level sci-fi thriller, and as such I was able to enjoy myself. There is a certain mystery surrounding the aliens and their motives, and although it's never really resolved, it keeps the film intriguing throughout.

So in short, don't expect another "Cloverfield" or "Arrival", in fact don't expect too much, and I think you will find you watched a nice little movie in the end.

Dearest God. . .I want my 92 minutes back.

[justanothercoloradoguy · 1/10 · 12 November 2010]

Look, I like sci-fi. . .heck, I LOVE sci-fi. Old Sci-fi, foreign sci-fi. . .I've even been known to sit through fan-made movies at sci-fi conventions without the crutch of massive amounts of adult beverages in my system. I love sci-fi that much.

After watching Skyline, however, I have, for the first time in my 40-odd years of watching good/bad/indifferent sci-fi, actually walked away not only confused, but feeling as if I had been violated without the usual afterglow peck-on-the-cheek. . .or even a few bucks on the nightstand for cab fare.

The concept was very promising. I won't go over the. . uh. . "plot" of this movie because you can read it here on IMDb, but the teasers led me to believe that this would be rich in opportunity.

And rich in opportunity it was. . .but apparently the pickaxes of the gold-diggers missed the mother-lode. . .at this point, I'm not even sure they were on the same mountain.

There I sat, eyes glued to the screen with what I can only hope resembled a slightly puzzled look on my face as I waited (and waited, and waited) for some explanation of what was going on in the movie. From the opening credits, of which there are many. . enough to make me question how many promises had to be made by the producers that donors to this cause would get their names on the opening sequences, to the ending credits, the moviegoer is whipped along in what can only be compared to an experience similar to viewing a foreign-language experiment in modernizing MacBeth. The characters seem to be similar to what you've seen before, but there's seldom a clue as to who is whom. Unlike others, I don't have a problem with the acting. . .I'm sure everyone involved with this venture was a bit distracted at actually being INVOLVED with this venture.

The "plot" had so many holes in it from beginning to end that I'd be surprised if the working title hadn't been along the lines of "The Swiss Cheese Project." From Jared's reason for going to LA (to meet his friend who did. . .what?) to the end where his central nervous system was used in a way that appeared to be some sort of soothing suppository for inflamed alien orifices, I just couldn't figure out why anything was happening (SPOILER. . .hey guys, the reasons the aliens aren't out over the water is because humans don't LIVE on the water in large numbers).

With Plot holes this large and no redeeming qualities other than "Love Conquers All. . .sorta," it was like going to a major league baseball game and having the pitcher roll a kickball at the batter.

So, if you are thinking about spending your hard-earned cash on this movie (or even going on a dare), wait for it to show up on broadcast TV. . .or even better, just don't do it.

If you think I may be simply a disgruntled moviegoer. . .go watch any of the other movies and stand in the hall when this movie lets out. Listen to the comments from those who have just experienced Skyline. I haven't heard so many negative comments at the theater since they stopped using the good oil to cook popcorn in.

There are two reasons for my not giving this a "0" rating. . .first, there is no number lower than 1 on the ratings guidelines and, second, the special effects were phenomenal.

The most shocking part of the evening, however, was experienced as I was walking out. Another patron mentioned that they are already considering a sequel. The resulting groans and looks of disbelief that greeted his comments were stunning.

Idiots do boring things while cool aliens wish they were in a better movie

[crimsonelite · 3/10 · 12 July 2018]

The biggest issue, is a lack of scope. Our film is focused entirely in this building, and the main characters inability to leave. In something like War of the Worlds, you see the scale of the destruction and it conveys the idea that this in an all out war. The closest we get in the final set piece with a sky battle around the main characters, which is well shot and kinda epic, but it come too little too late, and doesn't do enough to elevate the film beyond the hour and 20 minuets it spent getting there. Now a smaller scale isn't necessarily bad, like Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead, but you need to back it up with something, like some kind of commentary, or strong characters that we wan't to follow. But we don't get that either, so the film is left with nothing engaging.

Speaking of characters,

• BORING CHARACTERS

These people are so dull and uninteresting, that I literally confused two brunettes for each other on multiple occasions. The acting is generally mixed; some good delivery, while others less so, but not to the extent that it ruins the film or that I can't appreciate when it works. But on the whole, I didn't care.

Is there anything worse that following people you don't care about? How about following idiots!

• STUPID DECISIONS

To keep characters from succeeding, they end up resorting to idiotic decisions. Their first escape attempt fails, so don't try again! We live in this building now! Or rather this room. exploring the building might yield something interesting like a change in location. The lights in the sky are controlling people and lead to them being abducted? Maybe I can look at them through this telescope. And now you're dead. Woops!

But the dumbest comes when the military shows up and lands on the builidng. Why can't we signal for help and rescue? We're at War. No seriously, he don't trust the human military, because "they're at war." Yes! Yes you are at war! And you're civilians! I actually asked a friend who served in the British Army, and apparently they are ordered to keep civilians safe in a firefight and escort them to safety when it's safe to do so. So I don't know what this guy though they would do, and it's especially dumb, since this character is the same one who insisted they hold up and wait for rescue. Then when rescue comes, can't trust them!

But the biggest kick in my pateince comes with,

-THE ENDING So our "heroes" are abducted by the aliens, and the people being taken have their brains taken out and used to give life to new soldiers. But because our main character is super special and important, he takes control of the alien body and uses it to save his girlfriend from a Baby extraction machine (I don't know why. The directors have a weird thing about unborn babies in this and their other film Alien vs Predator 2). So he gets ready to protect her from the aliens and....credits. It just ends. It sets up a final battle and doesn't deliver. I've actually seen people praise this film because it break from traditional Hollywood endings where the humans beat the aliens and everything is all heroic and "unrealistic", BUT THIS FILM SETS UP THE HOLLYWOOD ENDING, AND THEN JUST STOPS! If the film ending with them being abducted, accepting that there is no escape, that would be one thing. But they undercut this idea by setting up a fight and bailing before anything can happen. Having an ending is not a cliche that movies need to move away from like evil businessmen making money while making a monster, or the third act break up. It exists, because a story has to come to an end at a logical point! It's like if Star Wars just abruptly stopped as the ships approached the Death Star; you would feel rightly ripped off!

Is there anything good?

+THE ALIEN DESIGNS The monster design is really interesting; they use a light to hypnotise people and then abduct them, harvesting brains which give life to their machines of war. It feels better than standard aliens that just want destruction. I just wish they were in a better movie.

CONCLUSION It's a flat, dull movie populated by idiots that I don't care about. Cool aliens, but they're wasted on a movie that doesn't even have an ending.

I joined IMDb today just to warn you that is the worst movie I've ever seen

[Skotsuyama · 1/10 · 12 November 2010]

I've never wanted to leave a movie so bad in my life. After 30 minutes, I felt like someone stole my money and wanted to walk out and demand the theater they give it back. But I knew if I did that, I would have no place to write a review. So I endured. And the more I endured, the more I felt like I needed to warn other people to not waste their money.. To not make the same mistake that I did. Paying money to see this movie will probably be one of my all time regrets in my life.

The script is the worst script I've ever seen/heard.. I can't believe that a movie studio would give the green light to this. I came home to check who wrote it, so I can steer clear of any other scripts they may have written. And turns out it's 2 guys who do visual effects for The Brothers Strause. And they've never written a script besides this one. I honestly believe that anyone on IMDb writing reviews could have written a script at least as good, if not better.

I can't really comment on the acting since the script and directing are too poor. Maybe the actors really can act, but you'll never know from this movie. Reminds of seeing Michael Clarke Duncan in Streetfighter The Story of Chun Li. I already know Michael Clarke Duncan can act, but that movie was so horrible it made him look horrible.

I can only guess that the people giving this movie high ratings are the people who either worked on this movie, or friends of someone who worked on this movie, or the actual studio itself trying to drown out the normal 2-3 star ratings.. There is no way that this should be 6 star movie.

I wish I could go back in time and undo the horrible wrong I've committed by staying for the credits to roll. I feel so low class for watching this.. I'm sorry mom..

Killed by the atrocious characters personalities

[larryimdb · 3/10 · 15 August 2017]

This movie is in my top 3 of the WORST "heroes" ever.

Rarely have I watched a movie where ALL the main characters are such a bunch of stereotyped stupid, whiny, obnoxious, bickering, self-centered jerks.

This KILLED the movie for me. The characters are so insufferable that it's painful to watch. In fact, you're relieved when they die/are abducted! In addition to that, the script was none too good, and the ending was stupid (total Deus ex machina, so lazy!).

Too bad, because as a B-movie (I really like those), despite -or because of- the outrageous main idea, it could have been funny, but in the end, it's not. What a waste.

I'm giving it a 3 because the effect were good, but I think I'm being generous here.

Strong: Effects and Idea. Weak: Rounded Characters and Script

[van-holland · 4/10 · 3 July 2012]

This film peaked my interest from the trailer, a job well done by the marketing team, which tends to play towards the strengths of this movie. Seeing how $500,000 was spent to actually make the film, and $10 Million was used for the special effects, its no wonder that the strengths of the film where in its visuals and ideas, while the heart and soul (the script and acting) were lacking attention.

The Premise of the film is not new, an alien invasion, but where the director duo go different is in the fact that they don't explain why. They leave it up to the imagination of the viewer, or to future films. I felt that this is good because all to often we know what the aliens want, and "wham bam" the hero steps in and fixes it. General audiences will like this, but sometimes it gets a bit boring. I really enjoyed how the characters seemed hopeless up until the very last scene, in which Jarrod's brain makes an epic takeover of one of the aliens. SO AWESOME!!! This leaves the ending to the imagination, and is the true beauty sometimes. Leaving the audience wondering....what if?

Now, to address the actual script. Halfway through the film I began to realize that these characters were simply your average Joe, and were not going to be a huge impact on the man vs alien outcome. This led to a feeling of "why is this worth watching?" because when we go to see movies, we want to hear fantastic tales! We want highlights! We want great stories! Yes, the directors took a different approach by having their characters be very "average people" which is liked by some, and despised by others. It took going out on a limb to do it. Did it work? A little. Much of the movie the audience doesn't have much to root for, as few of the characters really have redeeming value. I feel Elaine was the only character who had pure intent, yet she played a very passive role, and didn't take much forefront. Next time, make Jarrod less of a jerk and make him excited to be having a baby!

As far as the script? C-. The dialogue was all too cliché, as the characters were not very developed. They didn't give them much time, as they wanted to quickly jump into the visuals and play to the films strengths. However, this oversight led to a lack of "realism" with the characters. A little bit more time with the script and character development would have given the film at LEAST 2 more stars. Yes the characters want to stay alive, but that is only so inspiring after a while. When they have a reason beyond themselves, that is when films go from good to great!

Across the board, a well put together piece by the Strause Brothers, as they showed they can make a movie that sells. Now they will have more chances to prove that they can make movies that capture the hearts of the viewers!

Skyline

[tweety_myrthe · 21 July 2011]

I wasn't really expecting much from a movie with so many bad reviews, but when i heard from somebody in my class that it was his favorite movie i decided to give it a try. The movie begins when some random people do something (i forgot what) at a swimming pool. The movie doesn't bother to introduce you to any of these characters because it's to busy showing woman in bikini's. After the first pointless 5 minutes some flashy lights come down from the sky and hypnotize one of the guys from the first 5 minutes what makes him want to walk into the light (i guess?) Fortunately he survives and some of the men go investigate outside to find out what happened. The rest of the movie is just people making dumb decisions and getting their brains sucked out.

The story doesn't make sense and i still have no idea why the aliens are using the retarded brains of the humans to make new aliens. The acting isn't that bad but the one thing that really sucks from the movie is that their is NO character development in it. The characters never get a personality and because of this it's impossible to feel sorry for them when they die. A really strange thing from the movie is that the main character turns into a friendly alien at the end of the movie because he has super powers or something? The main point that i heard people complain about is that it's a rip off of some other sci-fi movies and i totally agree because you just can replace the name skyline for Independce Day meets War Of The Worlds.

My final verdict for this movie is a 3 out of 10.

I Created an account to tell people how bad this movie is...

[Refrigerator22 · 1/10 · 14 November 2010]

Plain and simple... this is the worst sci-movie ever made and any half-wit would agree. There is absolutely no argument to support otherwise.

After leaving the cinema, rather than reviewing the last 92 mins of our lives we'll never get back, my mate and I discussed how exactly movie's like this make it past the script-writing stage... It actually filled me with rage that people put millions of dollars into a project this idiotic and ultimately unrewarding in so many ways.

If you want a spoiler, watch the trailer... that IS the movie. It shows the first 2 minutes of the movie... after that you're given no closure... the acting gets worse, the storyline repeats and thats it. blue lights, blue veins on faces, average looking aliens and a hovering spaceship.

As matter of fact, i recommend seeing skyline, because you'll be able to tell people what 'the worst movie you're ever seen' is.

Fun sci-fi/monster action. Not as bad as some people say it is!

[phoenix42-676-813663 · 6/10 · 16 November 2010]

The movie is an entertaining ride for the most part as long as you go into the movie prepared for something that will have no unique characters or a decent script. - I saw the movie fully expecting a bad script, characters I wouldn't like, no artful directing, and a plot that fails to do anything new or interesting. But I allowed myself to be entertained by it as a simple piece of sci-fi/monster action! This is what you must do if you go to see it!!

I was mostly inspired to do this review because I think the film doesn't deserve some of the really nasty 2/10 reviews I have seen.

Basically the aliens and each confrontation against them are generally exciting and save the film. Considering the film was made on quite a small budget they did a great job with the effects. I think fans of video games like the RESISTANCE series or HALF LIFE should be able to enjoy it a bit more than most.

A lot of people have been to harsh on this film, it is clear from the trailer this is just another alien invasion movie. Anyone who watches it expecting a modern sci-fi classic like District 9 will be disappointed - so don't do that.

Basically if you are unsure about seeing the film but enjoy sci-fi/monster movies for nothing but quick entertainment you should get something out of it.

Stretches the imagination beyond the breaking point

[pmstone2 · 1/10 · 24 March 2011]

I'm not one of those people who gets bent out of shape because a sci fi movie isn't 100% scientifically accurate. It is, after all, fiction. I don't care if space ships go wooosh in a vacuum. But I do prefer that there be enough scientific basis to a movie that it is at least plausible. Skyline goes so far beyond believable, its not even preposterous. An alien race arrives on Earth to harvest humans. OK, I can buy that. But not for food. Or any other believable purpose. They do it to harvest their brains so that they can....uh....put them in new alien bodies to make more aliens? Huh? Let's see, an alien can grab a person, violently rip their head off, and then pluck out their brain and spinal cord, completely intact and unharmed, with about as much effort as pealing a banana. Of course, that's believable. Nothing wrong with that picture. And then this brain is handed to a new (baby?) alien who sucks it in and shazam, a new, fully functional alien. Got it. So are we saying that this alien race can't procreate without human bodies to pluck brains out of? So how did they get started to begin with?

Then there is the idea of why the aliens would even want the brains of the people in this movie. Who would want a brain of anyone that dumb? Let's see now, we're hiding for our lives from big bad aliens who will do anything to catch us. I got an idea. Let's hide in an apartment, on the outside top floor of a tall building, in plane sight. The apartment with the great big, floor to ceiling windows. Oh, wait, we taped bed sheets over the windows. That'll fool them. Should we go down in the basement maybe? No. They might find us there.

Oh, and how about ships that have legs hanging out the back, and when they want to move, they pull in their legs and then push off with them, causing the ship to lurch forward. Like frogs jumping. OK. I can see that. Even if they did borrow it from the movie Altered. Perfectly plausible. Hey, if I was a super race capable of interstellar travel, that's how I'd make my ships work.

Give me a break.

An intelligent Scifi that doesn't cater to the crowd

[greyarchive-1 · 10/10 · 17 November 2010]

After reading so many negative reviews I was actually considering not going to watch it....

I was expecting the worst I even took my android phone in case it was really bad and I could of played a couple of games.

This film doesn't follow the Hollywood method it doesn't have a normal ending, characters are not printed on politically correct paper.

I found the reactions of the people involved to be realistic, normal people with small minds and grasping to small problems in a situation they have no control over..

A humankind shown to be 99.999% normal petty and none heroic.

We watch so many films that follow a formula that show man out to be this amazing being who always survives always wins we are so use to being saved and its not really true is it ? We don't have a ace pilot or elitist hacker we don't have a superhero to fix it all, we be in trouble if something more advanced than us comes to play.

To me this makes it an awesome film and strangely I found the rest of the people in the cinema of the same mind as soon as the film finished people I didn't know started discussing it as a bit of fresh air.

If you like your films like independence day or Armageddon or any film where humankind are groomed and praised where a prayer to the gods or a speech by the president saves the day then you probably won't like this movie.

I look forward to seeing skyline 2

Couldn't disagree more with the bad rating.

[sgbreton77 · 7/10 · 13 November 2011]

I usually agree with IMDb ratings, but with this one I could not disagree more. 4.5???? Ridiculous. Yes, It's certainly not a masterpiece, and doesn't have an incredibly clever or elaborate script, however it has a lot of virtues that deserve a whole lot more than a poor 4.5: First the visual effects are really, really good. Second: the acting in my opinion was also very acceptable, very natural and according to the situation, the way normal humans would react to an extraordinary terrifying situation, an alien invasion; a few cliché dialog but nothing really to be annoyed for. Another plus is the end: incredibly bizarre and surprising, didn't see it coming. Finally and most important, it kept me interested all the way till the end, which is what a movie should do. Now, knowing that the budget for this movie was $10 million I honestly think the producers and the whole team did an excellent job. 7/10 seems a fair rating for me and I truly recommend it to sci-fi lovers despite the bad ratings.

My eyes! my eyes!

[dave_cable · 1/10 · 5 February 2011]

I love sci-fi movies from the super-great to the cheesy "so-bad-they're-good" b-movies but I'd class this as a c-movie at best. The negative reviews are dead-on and I wish I hadn't wasted time on a movie that was so badly done.

The basic concept of aliens invading and easily wiping out the puny humans is great, I love that - it's fun to have an unhappy ending.. but the plot felt like it was typed out by monkeys while listening to sharp nails scrape along a mile-long chalkboard. I spent the entire movie waiting for it to start plot-wise. They totally ruined a great concept with a pathetic attempt not even worthy of direct-to-disc.

And the characters.. ya, I'm with everyone that couldn't wait for the aliens to kill them, just so I would be free of their 'acting'.. perhaps this was intentional to make the audience side with the aliens but the movie would've actually been better if all the actors had been sucked up in the first minute and we spent the rest of the movie just watching the aliens wipe out humanity. If the aliens were smart, they wouldn't touch those brains with a 10-foot sentinel tentacle.

The aliens definitely are a ripoff of the machines in the matrix and hopefully a well-deserved lawsuit will prevent a sequel from invading the earth.

Avoid this one.. it's not bad, it's super-bad and right up there with District 9 in the over-hyped, makes-a-good-commercial but "why did I want to watch this?" category of movies.