‘Skyline’: a waste of time and money

By Frank Ladra
The Guardsman

When the first trailer for “Skyline” hit the movie screens, it taunted audiences with visual deliciousness, promising to be the greatest alien invasion movie since 1996’s “Independence Day.” Unfortunately, the theater experience wasn’t as stellar as expected.

“Skyline” offers unmistakable ripoffs, like “Matrix”-style cyborg squids and invasive seeing-eye tentacles, similar to those in “War of the Worlds.” As predictable as a video game, the aliens get bigger and more badass as the movie progresses, while the distracting attempts at plot development leave moviegoers wishing for a mute button.

With all the makings of a big budget science fiction movie, “Skyline” takes viewers through a complete list of cheesy and predictable clichés. Aliens whose technology is advanced enough to levitate hundreds of thousands of human bodies don’t even have the infrared ability to realize when a human is hiding on the other side of the window blinds.

The movie is teeming with stereotypes—the token black guy gets killed off early in the film and the token subservient Latino doorman suddenly takes charge in a crisis.

The demise of the shallow, self-centered new money crew from Los Angeles toward the end of the movie is actually a welcome relief.

Despite its obvious B-movie randomness and pure lack of acting skills, “Skyline” unapologetically tries to present itself as quality cinema. Directors Greg and Colin Strause obviously thought they’d pull the wool over everyone’s eyes, pitching pointless scene after scene as if it were innovative science fiction.

And not to throw a total curveball into this review, but the last ten minutes of the film are edge-of-your-seat intense and visually incredible.

For those who still wish to put themselves through 92 minutes of computer generated predictability, a money saving matinee seems like a good suggestion, or just wait for the DVD release. At this rate, it should be out by Christmas.