One of the worst films I have seen in theater in some time. It reminded me Battlefield Earth in some way, although this one was easier to sit through due to the good visual effects. The first 20 minutes were a total bore; I was like "where is this story going?' I understand they were trying to establish some sort of character relationships at the beginning, but it was so uninteresting the way they present it, and you still don't really care afterward. At least it got better when we finally got to the aliens attack. Still, there is no plot whatsoever, a lot of running around, and the characters just get killed one by one in predictable fashions. They also tried a couple of slow-mo scenes when it's not necessary. Like my boss said after the movie, it feels like an end-of-class project by some visual effect graduate students.

D

I hear it's hilarious. I almost want to see it for a laugh.

If the Brothers Strause (Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem) set out to prove a film with convincing computer-generated images and a handful of exciting action sequences could be produced for just ten million dollars, then Skyline is a mild success. It's unfortunate, however, the acting is so subpar, as well as the writing.

Colin and Greg Strause rose to prominence as the founders of Hydraulx, a VFX firm which contributed to Avatar, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 300, and several other significant films. So their CGI credentials are sound, and it shows throughout Skyline. Inspired, menacing creature designs by Alec Gillis (Aliens) and Tom Woodruff Jr. (The Terminator) don't hurt. The brothers are not fantastic directors, though. Due, I'm sure, to budget constraints, at least 90 percent of the film is set in a single Los Angeles apartment building. This could have been turned into a positive--claustrophobic, labyrinthine--by a more gifted director. Despite a few noble attempts by the Strauses and first-time cinematographer Michael Watson, including a time-lapse shot, the apartment is never turned into an atmospheric, interesting location, and the viewer begins to sense the film spinning its wheels, avoiding plot developments which would require new sets and an expanded scope for as long as it can. To praise the Strauses and Watson, they handle the action sequences well--they are clear, crisp, and, for the most part, well-staged. People who suffered through the nocturnal ineptitude of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem will also be glad to know most of the film is set during the day.

The cast is overflowing with television actors. It's Eric Balfour from Six Feet Under! It's Scottie Thompson from NBC's short-lived Trauma! Oh, and there's David Zayas from Dexter! And winning the coveted "and" spot in the credits is Scrubs' Donald Faison. I don't want to say the acting is "bad." Balfour is a capable brooder, Faison has a few charming moments, etc. There's just a general stilted quality to every performance, which can perhaps be attributed to the Strauses' obvious technical emphasis and/or the half-hearted attempts at character development interspersed throughout the script by Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell. For example, Thompson tries damn hard to sell an impossible moment in which her (just impregnated) character decides to chide another survivor of the alien holocaust for smoking a cigarette in her general presence. Oh, heavens.

I left Skyline with mixed feelings. On a visual level, it's a success, and it delivers a modest share of pulse-raising moments. I just wish the Brothers Strause had spent more time developing the performances and the plot, as well as honing their on-set directorial skills. In the end, Skyline is perhaps best described as pleasant, but, in several respects, insufficient.

C+

Skyline is a Creature Feature done right!

Finally.

Skyline is a movie that captures the elusive tone of over-the-top seriousness so seldom seen these days, let alone as convincingly as this (and that's not to be confused with the more common over-the-top camp (of which I'm also a fanboy)) - - it's the epitome of the B-movie, done right.

This is a movie that isn't afraid to lay in a solid foundation of character development, I mean old school. A perfectly sleazy little soap opera among a group of varied personalities... ya know what I'm talkin' 'bout! Audience members actually learn to care about the characters, even before they get alienized. And boy-o-boy that alienization is a wicked makeup effect combined with lighting and just a soupçon of cgi. Matter of fact all the alien hardware FX were done just right - - not too fancy, yet fully convincing within the frame of the story. The unknown actors were also an asset one musn't underestimate - - they sold the story far better than any Will Smith hammin'it up or glummin' it down yet again. I dug the rhythms of the story with it's periods of quiet calm peppered with brief periods of intense action. All of this tone stuff doesn't just happen accidentally - - this is the work of a sharp director, or directors as the case happens to be - - The Brothers Strause will rise to be a force to reckon with within a few short films. Watch for their masterpieces to come.

Skyline is a Cloverfield I can believe in.

Allow me to reiterate: Skyline hits the pitch perfect tone and sustains it right through till the (oh so delightfully bitter) "end"! (I can't wait for the sequel: Skyline 2 is gonna be altogether madly mind-blowing!!!

I love Skyline, amazing film, instantly atop my 2010 top ten list, a transcendent ride through low-drama in a tight situation. The second perfect offbeat sci-fi horror film of 2010 after Daybreakers. This is one freakin' lucky year.


88888 out of 5.

It's pretty pedestrian.

Special effects were decent, but not good enough to ignore the HORRIBLE acting and dialogue. The ending was pretty sweet, though.

Rotten Tomatoes 10%
Metacritic 28
Cinemascore D-
Bradley Witherberry 88888 out of 5.

Seriously, your taste in flicks is getting worse as time passes.

I think a thorough internal review of your critic scoring is in order.

You see the problem here is that I really did love Skyline. If your enjoyment of movies hinges on the approval of the majority, I would say that it is you who needs to conduct the thorough internal review. Seriously, it's okay to think for yourself. I am at peace with my taste in film.

C+

Definitely one of the worst movies I've seen in theaters for the past while. Well, this and You Again...

The kicker was how the alien invasion almost completely centered around their condo building.

Visually I was impressed by what they could do with a limited budget, but the movie is just stupid. The script is quite bad and the acting is amateurish. And I can't help but be annoyed by the homophobia on display in one scene here. It left a bad taste in my mouth. The scene was very unnecessary and it seems clear to me that someone involved with making this film is a homophobe.

C

Which scene had homophobia? lol

At the party when they were spying on the guy receiving oral sex and they were all excited and cheering and then when it turned out to be a guy who was performing it everyone was so disgusted, even the women. Considering this is L.A. it's hard to believe everyone would have the reaction of people in a small mid-western town. It was just really unnecessary and, at least IMO, pretty offensive.

Right, I remember. Stupid scene.

Everyone in small mid-western towns seem to project that stereotype and the big cities do too, but from my experiences and knowledge from friends and reading articles L.A. New York Chicago etc. have their homophobes, hicks, jocks and assholes too, they just hide them better. I've personally found a great amount of acceptance in two small mid-western towns I've lived in with a remarkable group of people: geeks, stage nerds, musicians, burnouts, potheads, black, white, asian, male, female, I don't buy that stereotype at all, and totally believe there would be a whole group of homophobic douches. Not defending the director's inclusion, just high and felt like ranting about that.

F

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Not sure why the fuck I watched it. Strause brothers and everyone involved should jump off a cliff.

I'm amazed the movie looks that good effects-wise on a 10M budget. There are some very nice effects in this movie. They did make an attempt to make you care about the characters, which is more than some movies do, but in the end if you don't have good actors or writing, you're just not going to care.

In the end, I was moderately entertained, so I give it a C+, mostly for a few good action scenes and impressive effects.

4/10 -> D

Visually it a pretty damn good movie. Too bad it fails on every other count - acting, script, directing...

It's a paper thin story. I don't want to watch a 90 minute alien invasion movie without an intricate setup. It's random people being killed. And not even in an inventive way. And there's a twist at the end leaving a movie open for a sequel that AT least has somewhat of a setup (too bad they haven't just used that idea for this movie) - but still I feel like I'd be happier if they made the sequel as a video game and just let me bust the shit out of those aliens. I mean we'd probably only be served with another 90 minute visually pretty fight with no substance at all, so...

Visually beautiful but really a piece of shit and laughable movie that added nothing... nada! I hate it. I will admit that i was mildly entertained during the action sequences but thats about it. I really hated the ending because i didnt know what the hell was going on and i want to know what the hell was so special about this guys brain that took over the alien's body. Or did i miss something?

D+

Unlike this piece of crap i want a sequel to Cloverfield, and I want to know what the hell happend, why or what was that monster.

fucking terrible

I like this movie for its visuals but its definitely not a great movie. After the final movie was released I binged the whole series and the only good thing about this movie are actions/visuals that at times bring enough tension and the very end which I felt was great. The acting, directing and script are indeed terrible even though I felt the overall setup has/had potential if given a bigger budget.

C

I was never a big fan of this one and I remember being pretty excited for it before it came out. The visuals are definitely impressive for a film that cost only $10M to make and I like some of the cast in particular Donald Faison and Eric Balfour, but this is the definition of a dumb, B-movie with weak characters and questionable performances. I did always like the design of the aliens and their ships though, but if I want to watch something like this Cloverfield is easily the better option.

C-