Being a huge fan of science fiction and summertime popcorn movies, Skyline naturally intrigued me as a filmgoer. The trailers sported flashy special effects and the film promised to rip apart the Los Angeles skyline with alien abductions and war aplenty. The film was lauded when it hit the box offices and now that it has been released on Blu-ray home audiences finally get a crack at it. The question is: Is Skyline worth your time?
Released in November 2010 by Universal Studios, Skyline is the brainchild of Greg and Colin Strause (Brothers Strause) and was produced on a very modest budget. With limited set pieces the film is largely a special effects endeavor. With a cast of unknowns and television actors Skyline, everything comes together with B-movie flare. Despite all of this, it's the script that does the least amount of justice to the experience.
Skyline has a cold start with aliens landing on Los Angeles, but then it flashes back to introduces all the characters. Urban artist Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson) are on their way to L.A. for a special engagement. Jarrod's best friend Terry (Donald Faison) is having a birthday part, but considering he's a big shot of some sort it's naturally no small event. Jarrod and Elaine meet other people in Terry's penthouse suite, such as his girlfriend Candice (Brittany Daniel) and personal assistant Denise (Crystal Reed). Things at the part don't go exactly as planned, with one of Terry's associates dropping the bomb to Elaine that they are planning on hiring Jarrod and forcing him to move to the West Coast. Naturally that doesn't sit well with Jarrod's significant other, but the "pregnant" word is dropped in a cliché manner, so that kind of changes things. Being pregnant and moving to L.A. are the least of their problems, however.
Overnight bright orbs of blue light descend on the metropolis and people go missing. Jarrod himself was almost taken, but luckily he was saved by Terry just in the nick of time. When the worst seems to be over, more orbs appear and alien ships break the canopy of clouds in the sky. Just when the initial reaction is for everyone to get out of Dodge, the hung-over crew decides to sit tight, close the blinds, and hold their own in the penthouse while the invasion happens outside.
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