Review:
Skyline

Skyline is a new science fiction thriller directed by the Brothers Strause, the partnership which was last responsible for bringing Alien vs. Predator Requiem to the screen in 2007. The Brothers Strause are actually more accomplished as visual effects technicians, with many films on their CVs including 2012, Avatar and Iron Man 2. Like their first directed feature AVP Requiem, Skyline is more of a personal showcase for their prowess with visual effects than it is for their competency at storytelling.

The publicity campaign enacted prior to Skyline’s release was pretty enigmatic, focusing mostly on stills and footage of lights falling from the sky and people being sucked into air. There wasn’t really much else for people to go on except a superficial resemblance to the 1996 film Independence Day directed by Roland Emmerich. Having now seen the film it’s clear that this approach was clearly predicated by the film's lack of substance or substantial narrative. Since the screenplay was by Joshua Cordes and Liam O’Donnel, both of whom have no previous writing credits to their names, this should perhaps not come as a surprise.

Eric Balfour (most famous for his role as ‘Milo’ in the television show 24) plays Jarrod, a struggling artist from New York who travels to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Elaine (played by Scottie Thompson) to visit an old school friend Terry (played by Donald Faison) who has recently made it big. In fact it’s not entirely clear how Terry has made so much money – he doesn’t appear to be particular talented but he owns a Ferrari and lives in the penthouse suite of a swanky apartment block surrounded by great-looking women. The only thing that becomes apparent is that Terry credits Jarrod for his success and wants to hire him as a visual effects guy. Given that both of the writers and both of the directors all have a background in visual effects this comes across as something like wishful thinking.

We get to know the protagonists a little bit as they all attend Terry’s birthday party – a framing device very reminiscent of the 2008 film Cloverfield by Matt Reeves – except you’re given even less reason to invest in the characters. When Elaine tells Jarrod that she’s pregnant he’s not exactly supportive, and Terry has been cheating on his girlfriend, a token blonde with as much personality as her handbag. Of course, this is all just the setup: in the early hours of the morning in the aftermath of the party the aliens descend from the skies.