![]() ![]() The invasion is the same as in the original: large spacecrafts have sucked Los Angeles residents up into the sky using a bright blue light that hypnotizes them. But the mix of these giddy ingredients is diluted by its weak storytelling, leaving “Beyond Skyline” with only fleeting moments of genre glee to offer any special reason for it to exist. This time, he drops the “ Cloverfield” vibe of "Skyline" and tries to throw a bunch of action movie craziness into the fray: Frank Grillo (“ Captain America: Civil War”), Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian (the dynamic Pencak Silat duo from the “Raid” movies) and yes, a granted wish for alien wrestling. ![]() ![]() Still, a genre geek could dream.įor his directorial debut, “Skyline” producer Liam O’Donnell sidesteps the the story originally by himself and co-writer Joshua Cordes, hungry for a similar “cool” that came from the first film’s last audacious moments. The visual cliffhanger is as grandiose as it is ridiculous, whether or not the homemade sci-fi movie from VFX gurus the Strause brothers could afford it. That interest comes from its final moments: the promise of a battle royale between alien monsters, one of them steered by a human's brain. Chausse, Colin Strause, Greg StrauseĮxecutive producers: Maguy R.2010’s “Skyline” maintains its unique position in bad movie history as the unlikely boondoggle that somehow made you want to see a sequel. Production companies: Hydrae Entertainment, M45 Entertainment, XYZ FilmsĬast: Frank Grillo, Bojana Novakovic, Iko Uwais, Callan Mulvey, Pamelyn Chee, Antonio Fargas, Lindsey Morgan, Jonny Weston If a sequel does in fact materialize, here’s hoping O’Donnell has the modesty to step out of the writer’s chair and focus on the action. But viewers who push through this silliness will be rewarded with an action climax that, while just about as ludicrous, is at least enjoyable. O’Donnell also winds up devising one of the lazier “I’ve found their weakness!” eureka moments in recent memory, suggesting that a drug dealer can make himself an expert on alien immune systems after a few minutes with a microscope. Sadly, lines like “ Hola, puta” and “Bring it on, bitch” don’t scratch that “ Hasta la vista, baby” itch. ![]() Less forgivable is the pic’s unimaginative screenplay, whose biggest attempts at humor are lame zingers that appear to have been added in postproduction after someone realized how dull the dialogue was. Uwais is Indonesian, not Laotian, but some practical inconsistencies will be overlooked by action fans who are excited to see Uwais leap at aliens with knives in both hands. Their main new ally is Sua ( Iko Uwais of The Raid), who introduces some hardcore Southeast Asian martial arts to the mix. (Using man-in-suit tech and practical effects along with CGI, the design team offers some pretty geek-pleasing visions.) Not only do they find that the human brains inside the beasties can sometimes remember their past selves, but they see the aliens’ effect on pregnant humans: Mark has to deliver a baby who is somehow growing so quickly she’ll be a teenager in a matter of days.īefore Mark has to worry about the infant’s sullen, rebellious phase, though, the movie takes quite a left turn: The humans escape the ship and find themselves in Laos, where they team with an impromptu rebel army bunkered beneath centuries-old Angkor-style temples. Here, they learn a bit about the otherworldly beings. Soon, the two men and a few fellow train riders (including Bojana Novakovic’s Audrey, the train conductor) have escaped the tunnels only to be hauled up into the mothership themselves. ![]()
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