Last Updated on December 21, 2021
PLOT: Aliens and humans have now found peace and live amongst each other. When a virus turns the extraterrestrial creatures against us, a team of suspiciously beautiful people must take the fight to their homeworld to save Earth and its people.
LOWDOWN: It’s been many years since I last saw Skyline (maybe even theaters?) and remember very little of its straight-to-DVD sequel Beyond Skyline, but I always liked its Canadian/British television approach to the genre. I grew up with Dr. Who, Andromeda, Farscape, and though this series doesn’t have the heart that comes with spending seasons with the same character, I see this being influenced by that type of mold. After catching up on the first two and completing the trilogy with the awkwardly titled SKYLIN3S (WATCH IT HERE), aka Skylines (yea, not the most accessible title), what’s the good word you ask? Pretty damn fun!
Set is a future where Alien tech is embedded into human life; I must say that visually, things are pretty ambitious for the small budget. As more of a direct sequel to Beyond Skyline than 2010’s Skyline, this is the world created directly from those plot points. Things look pretty good, considering, and even when they eventually take the fight to the alien planet, there isn’t much of a downgrade. The trailer sells this as an all-out actioner, but It’s more character-focused than it would have you believe. Of course, shit blows up, and there’s enough gunplay to go around, but I dug how much it focused on the struggles of its main character, Rose Corley. She has a charm that works even when things are somewhat laughable.
That being said, Lindsey Morgan kicks some major ass. My introduction to her as an actress came from Beyond Skyline (I never got around to watching The 100), but man, she owns it as the beautiful yet dangerous Captain Rose. Not everyone can lead, but damn if she doesn’t command the screen, and I can see her moving up into leading a mainstream franchise in the very near future. As goofy as things may get with a storyline that is convoluted and all over the place, following Rose and her self-discovery journey is surprisingly fun and… well, sweet.
Credit must also be given to the man that knows space more than most, Star Trek’s Alexander Siddig as General Radford. A great actor and one who can steal any scene, he has a certain presence that comes with experience and has me smiling a few times as the tough-as-nails General. Listen, everyone in this is a bad-ass, and though it borders on comical, there’s a bit of charm because of it. While Radford is holding the fort down in space with his human-alien hybrid ace-in-the-hole (Morgan), We have the talented and heartbreaking Dr. Mal (Rhona Mitra) dealing with the aggressive alien problem at a refugee-like camp back on Earth. It’s here that we see the problem that propels Rose and the team’s space adventure, and to no one’s surprise, Mitra is a cigarette smoking bad-ass (I’m not joking here). Though Dr. Mal isn’t in it much, I loved Rhona Mitra in this role. She’s tough, sexy, and ain’t taking anybody’s shit. Please give her a standalone film, please!
GORE: This isn’t bloodless, but it doesn’t go all out either. I have no complaints about what’s shown as this sticks to what came before in the series.
BOTTOM LINE: Overall, Skylines was more energetic and lively than the previous entries and went all-in with its wacky story. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Is it corny and over-the-top? Yes, and yes, but this never pretends to be something it’s not. I love this type of low-grade sci-fi that wears its heart on its sleeve. Maybe it’s the rum talking, but I had a fun time here, flaws and all. Skylines won’t be for everyone, and I totally get it, but if you like that cheesy Canadian type of sci-fi, then give this a whirl. Sometimes dumb fun is all you need.
Vertical Entertainment will release Skylines in select Theaters, Drive-ins, On Demand, and Digital, December 18th.
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