Review of Skyline (2010) by Dave M — 02 Jan 2012

I heard little more than negative reviews about this movie so perhaps my expectations going in were low, but I was none-the-less left thinking that this is something, if not great, at least original.

Like Cloverfield it's very boxed in, with the majority of the alien invasion viewed by bystanders. I usually don't take to that limited perspective, but it somehow worked here. I even began to sympathize with their having to choose between staying and trying to escape--the condo building began to make me feel safe, too, despite knowing the inevitability of them dying there. To that end, it drew me in more than I expected it to.

While it could be said the good guy won (sort of), the good guys (humans) certainly don't. I found that refreshing. No computer virus victories or weak immune systems or [insert clever idea] to win the day or leave us with hope of winning--we definitely lost. I'd have to dub it "The More Realistic Independence Day", and without the distraction named Will Smith.

What finally made me go "Huh" and edged it to the positive is that cost only $20M or less to make--less than a third of what Battle: Los Angeles cost. And I consider it at least 70% as entertaining as B:LA, so it has a pretty good bang for the buck.

So I give it 3 stars. It's not great and I might not watch it over and over, but it did entertain me for an hour and a half and made me wonder what the outcome would be.