Writer: Anne Jamaludin

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Watch this if you liked: “District 9”, “War Of The Worlds”, “Independence Day”

It is yet again another wave of alien invasion to add up to the array of existing sci-fi production. The Strause brothers decide to present their directorial debut "Skyline", surrounding foreign invasion from space and humans' fight for survival. The movie kicks off with a group of friends: Jarrod (Eric Balfour), his girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson) at his old buddy Terry (Donald Faison)'s house waking up few hours after a hard-partying to beams of light descending from the skies of Los Angeles. Such mysterious beams will draw people like moths to a flame and once they were captivated, they will disappear into the light, in thin air. Later on, it will be revealed that this extra-terrestrial force is aiming for nothing else but to 'harvest' something very important from every human. Now it is up to the remaining survivors to stay alive and maybe escape since there is just no hope of hiding and no hope in fighting as the alien probes close in to hunt down every single human in the city.

With the likes of "District 9" and "War Of The Worlds", this sci-fi thriller has its own appeal and presents a whole different scenario to the possibility of a space invasion. It might not boast a more renowned Hollywood cast but it is rather interesting to know that most of the actors are actually household names among TV series fans like "Monk", "Scrubs" and "Dexter". These actors proved that they could pull of good acting on the silver screen and audiences will find themselves gripped by the mixture of emotions in the movie. The lead, Balfour has only appear in minor movie roles prior to this but he had given a pretty memorable performance as the photographer Jarrod whose perseverance will proof that human beings are indeed a power that cannot be wiped out or overwhelmed easily.

"Skyline" however relies heavily on the graphics and cinematography. The effects are without a doubt captivating since "Skyline" is directed and also visually supervised by the artistically talented Colin Strause and his brother, Greg. The brothers have a lot of impressive testimonials under their belt, making "Skyline" an incursion like no other that alien body-snatchers as well as stereotypical destroying alien assaults seem to be the thing of yesterday. The creation of the alien probes (that functions as 'scouts') and alien destroyers (the 'hunters') at times do bear a resemblance to some videogame design but nevertheless they appeared just as ferocious, destructive and jaw-dropping that serves as a highlight of the movie.

Overall, the reviewer believes that "Skyline" deserves three and a half for its noteworthy production and performance. So fans of sci-fi thriller should give this movie a watch and also it is recommended to stay seated just a little while before the rolling credits are shown. Try not to miss the (possible) ending.

Cinema Online, 03 November 2010