Beyond Skyline

I liked Skyline (2010). It had a lot of action, interesting style (blue/red light, which I interpreted as something the characters don't actually see), and despite not being particularly smart like Arrival (2016) it was engaging until the ending I found very satisfying. I'm honestly surprised about most reviewers who seem to have expected a different genre altogether and were disappointed the characters aren't as deep as they think they are ;)

Beyond Skyline is simply more of the same, and I mean it. After it neatly blends with the original, it escalates the action, offers more of the same style (might be a tad too much, though), still not very intelligent yet avoids being unforgivably silly, and even delivers an ending I couldn't be happier about. It tries to avoid the mistakes of the first movie, like characterisation or dialogue, but it's debatable whether it worked. Definitely supplements the original and makes the series better than the sum of its parts.

In short, it's a lot like Independence Day (1996), much better than the sequel (2016) and provides a nice alternative to it.

I can't say that I liked the movie, but I also can't say that I did not like it. Why ? Because there is a reason to like it and not to like it. I like it for the ambition put in this project, the hard work, the visuals, the actors and everything. There were parts from the alien scenery I really did like. Put I do not like the pile of plot holes that are everywhere in this movie and unlogical things that happen so often, it makes the movie even funny at some point. I gave it a 6 just because of the hard work, otherwise, 5/10

...this being a sequel to 2010's Skyline. The first half of this film takes place simultaneously with the events of the first film, where LA residents try to survive a citywide alien invasion. This time we follow burn-out ex-cop Mark (Frank Grillo) and his JD son Trent (Jonny Weston) who are on the LA subway train when the invasion begins. They team with other passengers, including train operator Audrey (Bojana Novakovic) and blind Vietnam war vet Sarge (Antonio Fargas) to try and escape from the invaders. Later, after a trip on one of the alien spaceships leaves them stranded in Laos, our heroes join forces with Sua (Iko Uwais) and his underground drug cartel to fight back, while also protecting a mysterious child that may be the key to salvation.

The first film was a modestly successful low-budget affair with a B-movie sensibility and a polished look that belied the small budget. That film was made by the Strause brothers, special effects pros that did almost all of the films very good visual effects at their own homes with home computers. This sequel, which still has the Strause brothers as producers, looks just as sharp, although some shots suffer from being too brightly lit, allowing the FX work to be more obvious. While the first movie was a thriller, this one heads decidedly into action movie territory, with Grillo and Asian action star Uwais both getting into many a martial arts battle. The alien's backstory is explored more, as is the first film's silly reveal that the aliens are after human brains. That element becomes key to the story, and while it's no less silly, there's an attempt made to explain and justify it. Regardless, it doesn't bother me, as it adds to the B-movie appeal. I could have done with less giant robot suit fighting, an aspect added with this film, seemingly inspired by Pacific Rim. In the end, this is a reasonably entertaining B-movie with great visuals, cardboard characters and enough going on to hold one's attention.

I'm a fan of the first Skyline. I thought it was a well made alien movie that had some mystique to it and an unique ending. Unfortunately, Beyond Skyline takes the most interesting ideas from the first part and completely obliterates them in the most profane way possible.

The first half of Beyond Skyline is pretty good. The main characters are introduced in a very clichéd manner but I don't think that will bother the audience. Once we peek inside the alien ship things start to get really interesting. This is where the film really shines. Lots of special effects, lots of cool environments and lots of "what the *beep* are those things" moments. It really builds up a nice momentum and keeps you interested. But by the time the movie is half way through, things start to take a turn for the worse. The plot starts to get lazy, the characters start to behave oddly and the whole thing starts to fall apart. It is if the screenwriter decided "*beep* it, I'm going all in on this shit" and just destroyed the carefully crafted momentum from the first part of the movie. This is done in a gradual but heavy handed manner.

By the time the movie reaches it final stages, you're not going to care for it anymore. Why? Because the mystique is gone and because the mighty aliens are now being slaughtered in melee combat by some very vulnerable humans. But nothing can rival the final 5 minutes of the movie. You thought slaughtering aliens in heavy armor with knives was over the top? You haven't seen anything yet!

All in all, the movie is quite entertaining but it could have been much better. I feel the story could have worked if the movie had more time to develop it in a natural way. In its current form it just feels rushed and quite frankly stupid. Nevertheless, I feel Beyond Skyline deserves a watch and would recommend it to sci-fi fans.

First of all, they should get the camera man to stop drinking so we can hold the camera steady. This new style of hand-held cameras is absolutely, and literally, nauseating. I I would like to say it I actually saw the film, but for 40% of it my eyes are closed just keep from puking on the guy in front of me.

The about beside the movie is extremely weak with no character development and it's highly unlikely that an advanced civilization of aliens as those depicted in the movie The Practice martial arts as too close to just vaporising the human beings. I am an absolute sci-fi geek, and willing to forgive a lot of things. But this movie fails on so many levels I wonder why I even spent the time watching it that I will never get back.

I gave it 5 Stars only for the reason that it has some good special effects. But even they were amateurish and I can only think that the camera movement was designed to disguise the poor quality of the CGI.