Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Skyline 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 8, 2023

Alien invasion movies don’t need an excessive amount of fine-tuning to succeed. Sure, the finest features in the subgenre put in the time and effort to give audiences a rowdy ride of chills and spills, but as long as aliens focus on their furious attacks and a collection of screamy humans are dutifully riled up and on the run to safety, basic entertainment requirements are taken care of. “Skyline” seeks to challenge that theory, taking an encouraging premise of intergalactic war around Los Angeles and reducing it to bits of dismal, deadening CGI-laden chaos sandwiched between lengthy stretches of tedious, amateurish dramatic filler.

Arriving in Los Angeles to visit his old friend, Terry (Donald Faison), Jarrod (Eric Balfour), along with girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson), are immediately impressed with his swank high-rise digs. After a night of heavy partying, resulting in a job offer for artist Jarrod and a pregnancy concern for Elaine, the group awakens the next morning facing a full-scale alien invasion. Armed with enormous ships and a fleet of smaller scouting machines, the invaders use a blue energy force to coax their victims out into the daylight. From the confines of the apartment, Jarrod and the gang watch in horror as the city is attacked, spending the next two days looking for a way to escape the building and head for whatever safe place they can find.

“Skyline” is a riff on the “Cloverfield” experience, only losing the found footage approach while keeping to a smaller budget. It’s basically the same premise: uncharismatic twentysomethings with uninteresting soap opera problems are faced with an extraordinarily destructive extraterrestrial visitation, forced to figure out escape attempts and last in survival mode while military forces assemble their expectedly ineffective efforts. Toss in ingredients pilfered from numerous alien invasion features using similar acts of destruction and hysteria, and “Skyline” is one majorly derivative motion picture.

“Skyline” doesn’t conjure a fear factor through drama, but it does inspire chills with the return of Greg and Colin Strause to the directorial arena, picking up a few years after their disastrous work on the dreadful 2007 endeavor, “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.” At the time, the siblings were a major force in the visual effects industry, and they decide to play to their strengths for a follow-up, shunning Hollywood bucks to make a low-budget creature feature on their own, allowing them to slash costs and dictate tone without studio suits shadowing their every move. It’s a laudable idea, yet the pair fail to make a compelling ruckus with this franchise starter pistol.

Feebly scripted by Joshua Cordes and Liam O’Donnell, “Skyline” attempts to subvert expectations by keeping the action contained within the building, with alien activity monitored through windows or a telescope. While it cuts down on budgetary needs, it leaves much of the picture in the hands of the cast, and this is not the most inspiring ensemble to cheer on. Balfour’s a bland hero with no discernable range, while Faison simply looks confused with the whole endeavor. Female roles are dishearteningly chirpy and nonessential, creating an even greater divide between digital highlights and human low points, with the performances no better than efforts found in similar, crummy productions. The Brothers Strause have no sense of visual tension, trusting ineffective actors to communicate end-of-days panic. This group can barely spit out their lines clearly.

I suppose alien business is key here, with colossal motherships vacuuming up humans from the city streets like specks of dirt, and there are vaguely vaginal-looking scout ships darting through the sky on the hunt for leftovers. Nothing’s particularly understood about the visitors outside of their technology and hunger for human brains, making their status as superior beings a little suspect if they came all the way to Earth just to Dyson up some gray matter. However, digging into the mystery here isn’t the point. The siblings seek to amaze with their budgeted bonanza, staging flaccid action as the aliens chase the humans around the complex every 15 minutes or so, offering cheap thrills sans the thrills part. CGI elements are satisfying in a director’s reel sort of way, but the central pursuit of the story is drab, again requiring these unappealing actors to sell the enormity of the effects. A sense of grand scale just isn’t there, and for a film like “Skyline,” reminding the viewer they’re watching a second-rate production isn’t the brightest idea.

Skyline 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Screencaps are taken from the Blu-ray release.

"Skyline" made its Blu-ray debut in 2011 via Universal Studios (review), and returns to disc courtesy of Shout Factory, who hope to entice fans with a new UHD release, sourced from a "4K remaster of the original digital intermediate." Clarity is softer but passably detailed throughout the viewing experience, exploring the panicked appearances of the characters and their veiny, milky response to the alien presence, with textured CGI used to bring out the zombification. Alien ships also carry acceptable definition, and apartment interiors are open for study. Exteriors are dimensional, examining alien activity around the city and into the sky. Colors have their power, especially with the glowing blue lights of the attackers, and primaries on clothing and decoration register as intended. Skin tones are reasonably natural, working with digital cinematography of the day. Also slightly limited are highlights, with lighting sources looking clipped, but this could be an inherent issue. Blacks are deep. Source is in good condition.

Skyline 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix offers some real power with alien attack sequences, delivering a rumbly low-end as ships crash and buildings explode, bringing weight to violent events. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, handling performance choices. Scoring supports with ideal emphasis, offering a sharp synth sound, and soundtrack selections are clear. Surrounds are active, pushing out music offerings and atmospherics, also enjoying use of panning effects as war and hunt sequences intensify, creating an immersive listening event. Sound effects are precise, working with the mayhem of alien action and movement.

Skyline 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

UHD

• Commentary #1 features directors Greg and Colin Strause.

• Commentary #2 features co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell and co-writer Joshua Cordes.

Blu-ray

• Commentary #1 features directors Greg and Colin Strause.

• Commentary #2 features co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell and co-writer Joshua Cordes.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD) offer "Oliver in Lobby" (:25), "Terry and Candace in Closet" (:31), "Jarrod and Elaine Paintings" (:37), "Extended Cache" (1:27), "Ray Painting Party" (1:32), "Painting Scene" (1:48), and "Candace and Oliver in the Kitchen" (:26). These can be viewed with or without commentary from directors Greg and Colin Strause, co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell, and co-writer Joshua Cordes.

• Alternate Scenes (HD) offer "Candice Story" (:53) and "Oliver's Backstory" (1:40). These can be viewed with or without commentary from directors Greg and Colin Strause, co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell, and co-writer Joshua Cordes.

• Pre-Visualization (HD) explores planning for "Pool Escape" (1:00) and "Rooftop Escape" (9:02). These can be viewed with or without commentary from directors Greg and Colin Strause, co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell, and co-writer Joshua Cordes.

• And a Teaser Trailer (1:31, HD) and a Theatrical Trailer (2:18, HD) are included. These can be viewed with or without commentary from directors Greg and Colin Strause, co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell, and co-writer Joshua Cordes.

Skyline 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A sequel is promised in the suspiciously gratuitous ending (it plays like an idea that was realized close to release), and follow-ups eventually arrived in 2017's "Beyond Skyline" (with O'Donnell taking directorial control) and 2020's "Skylines" (another endeavor, "Skyline Radial," is reportedly in the works), creating intense debate among viewers concerning franchise quality and storytelling direction. However, in 2010, The Brothers Strause were on the prowl for a genre meal ticket, putting their time and money into "Skyline," endeavoring to showcase their technical talents and get a new brand name going in the realm of B-movies. Actual filmmaking quality wasn't on their to-do list.