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Skyline
One of the most popular niches found in science fiction is the alien invasion. Movies of this type took on added meaning and symbolism back in the fifties when many filmmakers of the genre choose to use this theme to provide social commentary on the perceived danger of the looming communist threat on our American way of life. This extra dimension propelled the alien invasion flicks of that era to some of the best examples of this sub genre. Of course there were also the flicks depicting horrible creatures descending on our planet to wipe us out and consume the vast resources of our world. These were among our favorites as we sat there in the darkened theater watching a Saturday afternoon matinee. It has to be kept in mind that our expectations at that point were merely to have a fun time. We weren’t searching for heavy meaning or some socio-political treatise; we wanted to a bunch of aliens bring humanity to the brink of extinction only to have some scientist devise a new weapon that our military uses to save the day. Quite frequently the effects were far from special. It was not uncommon to get as glimpse of a zipper or in one infamous case a hand using a stick to push the ‘monster’ from almost out of frame. For those of us who grew up on these flick we may be more tolerant when it comes to movies that are not up to the current acceptable standards set by the audience. Recently a movie of this nature came across my desk and although it was universally panned I found it highly reminiscent of those popcorn flicks that provide so many hours of youthful enjoyment. This is not to imply that the film under examination here, ‘Skyline’ is anything more than a flick to use to have a little fun. It is flawed in several aspects of production which will be evident to any viewer but if you are able to suspend most of your expectations bringing to the level of a ten year old boy than this movie will transport you back to when it was permissible for a flick to offer some quick thrills and fun. A lot of Sci-Fi fans anticipated this film based only on its trailer. As any film buff will tell you the studios frequently put more into the trailers than the actual movie. In any case the film did receive a full theatrical release squeaking past recouping its $10 million budget and ultimately doubling the investment. Although this does not place the film in the block buster category it does make it a financial success. Considering the entire budget here is less than many films of the ilk spend on trailers for the stars they could have done a lot worse. This movie was written and directed by pairs of filmmakers. Occasionally this arrangement can spice up a story providing the opportunity to collaborate honing the script and stylistic choices between them. In this case it felt like both teams were in contention promoting conflicting ideas. This gave the impression of a loss of focus and drive that ultimately mars the movie. While on par with many cult classics from sixty years ago the overall effect is a general inability to compete against similar movies with greater budgets and subsequently broader scope. The overall feeling derived from this flick is that of a new film student trying to take the first few weeks of the curriculum into an initial work. ‘Skyline’s’ heart is in the right place but the enthusiasm of a blossoming auteur needs to give way into a more mature, considered style. The pair that handled the screenplay was Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell. This is the first major script for both although Cordes did have significant experiences as an Animation supervisor for effects heavy flick such as ‘The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D’,’300’,’ and ‘2012’.with such backgrounds it should come as no surprise that this movie is heavy on special effects, the main difficulty is they are used in lieu of a solid story. There is plenty of sizzle but lacking in steak. This is exacerbated to some degree by the pair providing the direction; Colin and Greg Strause. Brother Co-directors are not rare not even with identical twins. In this case they also had much of their training in visual supervision. This also served to slant their perception and stylistic choices away from plot and character development towards a movie that depends overly on the visual impact. Some directors achieve the ability to use visuals as a means to relate a story and enhance the emotional impact but that takes a special innate talent with years of practice. All four of these filmmakers are just at the beginning of the main phase of their professions. Even as flawed as this film might be it does demonstrate a basic talent that requires nurturing. Jarrod (Eric Balfour), an artist, and his girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson) have just arrived in Los Angeles to attend the birthday celebration of his best friend Jarrod (Donald Faison) along with his girlfriend, Candice (Brittany Daniel) and his assistant Denise (Crystal Reed). At first there is a misunderstanding believing Jarrod is moving there to join Terry’s special effects company. This is actually a good plot devise for the writers and directors as it incorporates a world they are familiar with and can present reasonably well. It also opens the door to a few quick effects seemingly just for kicks Unfortunately, they are not the only ones traveling to that East Coast city. The morning is greeted with the appearance of blue lights in the sky. The lights have a hypnotic effect on people who stare at them resulting in their eyes becoming cloudy and a marked distention of blood vessels. This freezes the hapless humans making them easy pickings for the devices that swoop down to gather them up. Jarrod begins to investigate going to the vantage point of a high rise getting his first look at the alien ships. He notices the space vehicles do not hover over water so he sets out to fleer to the marina. There are other survivors then he encounters and the final intervention of the U.S. military to save the day. This is directly out of the playbook established by the flicks of the fifties indicating that the filmmaker must have been fans of retro cinema since they are too young to have attended the matinee shows. It can be dizzying but if you want a popcorn flick it will do. Feature Commentaries with the Filmmakers Posted 03/18/11 |
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