Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Skyline

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Deadly dull alien attack movie has scary, gross effects.

Movie PG-13 2010 92 minutes
Skyline Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 15+

Based on 10 parent reviews

BraidedLady
BraidedLady Parent
February 25, 2019
age 18+

Should be rated R

This movie seems like it was written by a college student. Aside from the plot being forced and the characters cliche, it’s gross and excessively violent. How is this not rated R? After watching everyone get decapitated I had to turn it off when the aliens started attacking pregnant ladies’ unborn babies. BARF

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
PrimeSlayer
PrimeSlayer Adult
June 17, 2015
age 10+

Awful.

This movie just sucks. I'm not gonna bother writing about the content because if you're smart, you won't watch this movie. In the event you do, I'm so sorry. I wouldn't wish watching this film upon my worst enemy.
See all 10 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (17 ):

Directed by brothers Colin and Greg Strause, 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.

Talk to Your Kids 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?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate