Skyline a sub-par sci-fi film
What is it that is so appealing about Earth that they seem to be invading us in every movie? We don't seem to be taking care of it very well and surely there are better planets in the neighborhood. "Skyline" follows in the footsteps of other alien invasion flicks, but instead of earth, they want our brains. The problem is if this film is any indication of our worth then we deserve to be invaded and our brains taken, if only to erase "Skyline" from them.
The Brothers Strause have primarily been special effects artists ("Avatar," "Iron Man 2," "The Curious Case Benjamin Button"), but then decided to make a movie by themselves. Thus "Skyline" is that film, and with it has shown why creating special effects doesn't mean you can write or direct a film. The story in a nutshell is the aliens invade to abduct us for our brains and some people in Los Angeles say, "Hey those are ours!"
The cast is made up of the guys and gals that you've seen before in shows like "Dexter," "Scrubs," and "Six Feet Under," but any acting displayed in those shows went out the window of the penthouse suite in which most of the movie takes place.
There are two things that the film does semi-well. One, the effects for most of the movie are well done, but there are times where you would expect effects artists like the Brothers Strause to have done better. Whenever an actor interacts with a CGI creation it looks terrible, sometimes the air fights between the military and the aliens look subpar, and a lot of the explosions look like a video game. Two, and this won't be a plus for everyone, the film is pretty graphic for PG-13.
"Skyline" pales most in comparison with other alien-centric films like the superb "District 9," the very recent "Monsters," which was also made by an effects artist (Gareth Edwards), and, where "Skyline" seems to draw a lot of influence from, "Independence Day".
A huge problem with the film that hasn't been touched upon is the ending. The ending feels like the Brothers Strause wanted the audience to hate the film even more. The ending will not be spoiled here, but it will cause laughter at how lousy it is.
After the terrible "AVPR: Alien vs Predator - Requiem" the Brothers Strause have followed it up with one of the lead candidates for the worst movie of 2010. Let's all pray that the Brothers Strause don't feel the need to assault our minds with another directorial effort and stick to visual effects.