Skyline

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Deadly dull alien attack movie has scary, gross effects.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this alien invasion movie has a lot in common with movies like War of the Worlds, Cloverfield, and Independence Day (though it's a lot duller). There are plenty of scary/violent scenes as giant spaceships capture hordes of humans, sucking them up through the sky, and, later, as monstrous aliens eat them. There are also lots of gross special effects, as well as some fighting, military-style action, and guns. Language includes several uses of "s--t," and there are some sexual situations (including implied oral sex) and some drinking.

  • Aliens attack, randomly, out of nowhere, interrupting the lives and plans of several young adults. The humans want to survive, but they have no real idea how. They try to overcome this major challenge, but nothing they do -- and nothing anyone else does -- has any real effect.
  • East Coasters Jarrod and Elaine are presented as more admirable than the "soulless" Los Angeles residents, who are generally depicted as liars, cheaters, and not very nice. Jarrod is protective of Elaine, but his attempts to rescue the group usually come to nothing -- and he becomes less trusthworthy later on as events progress. The women usually look to the men for help.
  • Scary images of humans being abducted into alien spaceships; black veins begin to appear on human victims, and eyeballs turn white. Lots of gross creature effects, such as slime and brains. Giant aliens grab and "eat" humans. A character attacks an alien brain with an ax. Guns are pulled. Jet planes engage in a dogfight with alien ships, and missiles are fired. A character kills himself in a gas explosion in an effort to take out some of the monsters. Lots of arguing.
  • A man and a woman have implied sex in a bathroom at a party; cheating is suggested. At a party, people spy on the neighbors, and there's some implied oral sex. Girls in bikinis are seen near a swimming pool. The hero's girlfriend is pregnant; there's some discussion around this.
  • Several uses of "s--t," plus "oh my God," "hell," "damn," "son of a bitch," "ass," and "goddamn.,"
  • Not applicable.
  • Characters (young adults) drink lots of hard liquor during a birthday party.

What's the story?

Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and Elaine (Scottie Thompson) fly to Los Angeles to visit Jarrod's old friend, Terry (Donald Faison), who works as a special effects man in the movie business. They throw a wild birthday party for Terry, who cheats on his girlfriend (Brittany Daniel) with his assistant (Crystal Reed). That night, huge alien spaceships attack the city and begin abducting humans by literally sucking them up into the sky. Smaller alien probes then begin scouring the city, using special lights to hypnotize victims. Can the five heroes survive by hiding out in Terry's apartment, or should they try to make a run for it? Better still, can they discover the reason for the attack?


Is it any good?

 

Directed by brothers Colin and Greg Strause (Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem), SKYLINE has an immediate low-budget feel, since the story takes place in a big city and has a tiny cast of only vaguely recognizable actors. When the movie focuses on its human "stars," it feels like there's very little at stake. None of them feel like real people, and none of them share any onscreen chemistry.

Things should get more interesting when the aliens attack, but the cheap-looking CG effects -- and creatures cobbled together fromthose in a dozen other movies -- make even the boring humans look interesting. The movie tries not to put all of its cards on the table right away, but in hiding certain information, things only become more illogical. (The aliens' behavior doesn't always make sense.) Still, the combination of giant, cheesy monster attacks and half-baked characters may ultimately earn the movie a cult/camp following.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the movie's violence. Was it scary? Why are some kinds of action/violence exciting, while other types are frightening?

  • What do the aliens want? How do they go about getting it? Is there any way that their behavior resembles that of humans?

  • Could Jarrod be considered the hero of this story? What makes him heroic? What are his non-heroic traits?


This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Teen, 14 years old
April 13, 2011
 
very good movie edge of the seat lots of sci fi action but suckish ending

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Adult
November 18, 2010
 
Awful.... worse sci fi alien movie.
well i had no expectations from this movie after seeing its ratting on Rotten Tomatoes, and as usual this film turns out to be one of the worst Alien / sci fi movie ever. one of the worst movie of the year. don't waste your money on it. only good thing about this movie were those pretty attracting posters just like the in the movie (the strange blue light from alien ships that attracts the victims). don't even waste your time on it, i mean if u download movies or watch it on sites. hate it so much. after watching trailer i thought if the movie is no good maybe the special effects will give me a visual pleasure but no , even special effects are bad, super worse. i know its a B grade movie but still looks bad if not worse. everything start so early and ends early too. one of the worst written plot for a sci fi movie ever. awful story with bad screenplay. uneven screenplay. acting is below average. and this movie has one of the insane ENDING ever. i was horribly miffed with this movie. its very rare that i give movie a awful review. i usually find some aspect or something in the movie which i like or interest me even if others doesn't or even if its of no importance. i am a fan of these visual pleasure fantasy sci fi movies like i love those indie or dramas. but this was awful. no lilkable characters or story or anything. crap. i would have given it half or 1 stars but 1.5 for somehow little bit nice effort visually.

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Parent of 18 year old
December 16, 2010
 
Honestly I think that this movie sucked. The story line to me seems like a combination of Cloverfield and District 9. The movies plot didn't make sense because through out the whole entire movie all the character would sit in a room and just wait until something happens and the ending of the movie also makes no sense *Spoiler Alert* when the main character's brain get's put into an alien's body and rescues his girlfriend. So in my opinion this movie completely sucked and anyone that actually like this movie you seriously need to watch better movies.

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Kid, 10 years old
April 18, 2011
 
SKYLINE
its in the the middle

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Teen, 16 years old
April 5, 2011
 
i rate this title IFFY for 13+
What to watch out for * Messages: Aliens attack, randomly, out of nowhere, interrupting the lives and plans of several young adults. The humans want to survive, but they have no real idea how. They try to overcome this major challenge, but nothing they do -- and nothing anyone else does -- has any real effect. * Role models: East Coasters Jarrod and Elaine are presented as more admirable than the "soulless" Los Angeles residents, who are generally depicted as liars, cheaters, and not very nice. Jarrod is protective of Elaine, but his attempts to rescue the group usually come to nothing -- and he becomes less trusthworthy later on as events progress. The women usually look to the men for help. * Violence: Scary images of humans being abducted into alien spaceships; black veins begin to appear on human victims, and eyeballs turn white. Lots of gross creature effects, such as slime and brains. Giant aliens grab and "eat" humans. A character attacks an alien brain with an ax. Guns are pulled. Jet planes engage in a dogfight with alien ships, and missiles are fired. A character kills himself in a gas explosion in an effort to take out some of the monsters. Lots of arguing. * Sex: A man and a woman have implied sex in a bathroom at a party; cheating is suggested. At a party, people spy on the neighbors, and there's some implied oral sex. Girls in bikinis are seen near a swimming pool. The hero's girlfriend is pregnant; there's some discussion around this. * Language: Several uses of "s--t," plus "oh my God," "hell," "d**n," "son of a bi*ch," "a*s," and "god*amn.," * Consumerism: Not an issue. * Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Characters (young adults) drink lots of hard liquor during a birthday party.

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Adult
November 24, 2010
 
Bad Movie for any age. Don't waste your time or money.
When my 14 year old son and I saw the trailers for Skyline we were excited to see it. I was reminded of Independence Day, Cloverfield and War of the Worlds. What Skyline delivered was one of the worst movies that I can recall. I was surprised that a movie studio would put this in the theaters. The story/plot is stupid and the acting is substandard. There are no likeable characters and no reason to care about what's going to happen next. The dialogue is lame and the special effects don't save this stinker. We (the viewers) don't care about the characters which is just as well because they all die anyway. Oops....sorry. The ending is especially moronic. We never get to know who or what the aliens are or why they have come. I could go on but I think my point is made. I told my son that we should've seen Unstoppable and that I was glad to just be hanging out with him

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Adult
January 3, 2011
 
Wouldn't even recommend for adults
Way too violent. Terrible ending. Extremely bad writing. I'm not sure this is science fiction or a slasher film, but the creators of this movie should never be allowed to make another movie. This one is sure to give kids nightmares.

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Adult
November 18, 2010
 
Please do not waste any money on this terrible movie
One of worst movies I have ever scene. I love sci-fi and I love Turk from scrubs but whoever wrote this script should be shot!! Awesome special effects. I am really shocked that this movie ever made it to the screen. At best it should have been direct to DVD or shown on the sci-fi channel. I've seen better movies on mystery science theater 3000.

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Educator and Parent
May 6, 2011
 
No thematic value to justify violence, except a wimpy "protect your family!"
A great idea, poorly written. Aliens with some kind of mind control powers come and destroy the earth, with a very negative tone. The ending isn't as bad as some reviews would tell you, but there's not a lot to get out of this except gore and fear. The devotion of Jared to protecting his family is nice, but next to the shallow, sparkly backdrop of a depopulated, affluent city it seems kind of shallow. Elaine is a walking incubator. I think you should stay away on issues of quality, but there isn't much thematic merit to the piece either. You really need that thematic goodness to justify all the offensive madness here.

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Parent of 13 year old
January 29, 2011
 
better than some may think.
This is actually a really good movie. Except for the ending.

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This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Studios:Rogue Pictures, Universal Pictures
Directors:Colin Strause, Greg Strause
Cast:Donald Faison, Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson
Genre:Science Fiction
Run time:92 minutes
Theatrical release date:November 12, 2010
DVD release date:March 22, 2011
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content

This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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