As entertaining as it is to watch a seemingly obscure film from 2010 that probably should have ended up on the SyFy channel, but got a wide distribution, I found that myself struggling to pay attention.
So…..
43 minutes into my brilliant idea of being a positive movie
critic, and I know I’ve created a massive challenge for myself, but here I am,
so here goes:
Scrolling past Netflix on the regular, and you find thousand
of titles fighting for your attention, Skyline will likely be at the bottom of
your list as it has 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fear not, here are some positives should you choose to
venture out onto the skyline (you see what I did there? Yeah you do).
Skyline is the ultimate “WTF” movie. Everything the actors do or say, as well as
the construction of each scene brings with it that undeniable emotion that can
only be expressed with the phrase, “what the fuck.”
My favorite “WTF’’ moment was when Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and
Oliver (David Zayas) decide to block the penthouse door with a washing machine DURING
an alien invasion. A WASHING MACHINE! I know, it makes zero sense, but that’s the
fun of it.
Remember, we must keep our disbelief suspended. We are escaping into another world, after
all. That’s the beauty of movies.
However, I have digressed.
Continuing on:
Oliver, as if suddenly reading my thoughts, says to Jarrod,
“It’s better than nothing,” to which Jarrod replies, “yeah, if you say so.”
What I liked about this scene is the possibility that both
the screenwriter and filmmaker were cognizant and self-aware of what the
audience would be thinking. Or maybe
they weren’t, and I’m giving too much credit to the makers of this film. Either way, I laughed at the scene. Thus, I enjoyed it.
Skyline is not made for it’s MAYBE feasible, but NOT-so-feasible
plot, and relies heavily on special effects to give it pizzazz. Special effects that, in 2019, seem dilettante.
BUT….
Certain scenes are spliced up to give it a chaotic feel,
beats within the dialogue are even paced.
The use of time-lapse to express passage of time (even if to indicate
hours gone by) all these things were positives.
They propelled the story further, which is what you want.
The women, while their interaction with each other was predictably
indifferent, were not forced to wear impossible clothing during a world wide catastrophe. In fact, one of them wore what we now call
athleisure wear. Leggings, tank top, and
the most impressive; sneakers. How often
do we see women in action films wearing heels and TINY outfits? Too often.
In skyline, you’ll be able to try and outrun aliens whether you do is
another case entirely.
Overall impression is while the movie might be hard to give
all your attention to sober, it is still entertaining enough for me to
recommend to watch drunkenly with your bestie, and scream “WTF” together.
