Skyline (2010)

The problem with science fiction is that regardless what topic you choose, you automatically have to assume the audience understands that they cannot argue with certain logic of whatever you make up for the sheer fact that they don’t know. Now, it’s from this point the artist can move towards making the audience forget about it, or taking advantage of it. The Strause Brothers chose the latter route, and I’m pretty sure it was accidental.

In their film Skyline, a first screenplay written by two visual effects men (Avatar, AVP: R), we have a complete alien takeover. Not necessarily anything new in of itself, but an explorable topic. The pro is that the writers opted for a more realistic version over some pseudo-catastrophe-yet-everyone-lives like Independence Day was and really made the audience feel as though there’s absolutely no way to save yourself…and that feeling was impacted due to a crescendo of disasters following glimmers of hope. The con is that they didn’t explore the theme of a takeover other than the takeover. I suppose this adds realism to the fact that we wouldn’t know why or what but it would’ve been nice to at least touch on the source of the aliens or something to that degree so as not to give exposition for literally why they came. Also, there were a handful of repetitious sequences between aliens and military that could’ve been altered just slightly to remain fresh enough to where I didn’t notice it so blatantly.

Needless to say, the visuals were the supreme highlight, and judging from who wrote the film, I would say the film was written around some great effects they came up with in their spare time because the dialogue is fairly amateur. Thankfully there are only a number of facepalm acting moments. Other than that, it’s just a usual script with the same mistakes you’d find in an intro-screenwriting classmate’s work.

On that note, the film did give us something to talk about. The power and technology of the aliens is rather daunting, moreso than before, and especially because of the last scene I feel that a new chapter in alien philosophy could be approached. There’s nothing more I can say without giving away the handful of secrets, but it’s thought provoking enough to the point where I wondered if it could be commenting on, the possible outcome of searching for aliens ourselves, or, again because of the last scene, our universal attitude and where our minds can lead other beings. It’s safe to say AVP: R was a joke compared to this…but it was a joke anyway.


5.5/10

Good Review! I agree with you that the special effects were the best part, but I thought the military scenes were fine, esp the maneuvers.

I wasn't that disappointed with it, but I also didn't go in with great expectations. It delivered basically what everyone said it would, great special effects and mediocre plot / acting.

I didn't find it to be that much of an Independence Day rip off. I thought it was more of a cominbation of Independence Day, War of the Worlds and Cloverfield.

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"Well all women are a little bit crazy, brotha." ~ Desmond

What's this about a thought provoking last scene. Gawd you are making me want to watch this thing now. Not that I wasn't going to want to for the effects alone. Good effects are never wasted, in my opinion.

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"Loves them? They need them, like they need the air."

That was mostly me being an optimist, but that scene was interesting despite the rather poor 70 minutes previous to it (besides the effects). It's kinda like if your brain was inserted into the shell of a different species and you became that species. It's actually a great idea, but they did so little with it that it's aggravating.

I guess that's what they were doing with all the people they abducted?

Yep...oh spoilers right.

I'm mostly interested in the possible comment.

So I don't get it, is the guy at the end a special case or do most people retain their consciousnesses?

Because of his "will power" he chooses to take control of the "vessel"

Oh.

OH.

So, I suppose the aliens that use these brains can also assert their will onto the brain? And the guy at the end only won out in the battle of wills, even though it is his brain in the first place?

You could say that

I thought it was pretty good. I'm a big fan of blue and there was plenty of blue in this movie.

Pretty damn decent FX too, it was a little boring in the middle but it had its moments.

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

So that assumes that a brain can be the subject of an outside will even when the source or origin of that will is, according to some (myself included), within or embodied by the brain itself. It makes sense that the human could have a will. It does not make sense that an alien could usurp that will with any other will in place of the human will for where would that will come? Where is the source of the alien will? The "vessel"?

Actually... what is the purpose of the human brain? Is it for, as in The Matrix, energy? Or is the brain itself meant to serve as a vessel for an alien consciousness?

I think the vessel is as empty as it's definition, therefore the alien will resides with the brain as would a human's. I only say brain and not "spirit" in this circumstance because it was the consciousness that played the major role in characterization of the vessel.

I think the purpose of the human brain is firstly unlocking knowledge about the tangible and intangible as well as using that knowledge to impress your personal ideas into your reality. Because of this I'm not sure a brain itself could be a vessel...unless you don't use it...then it's quite possible.

The vessel is a body or container for the brain exterior to the brain, correct? When the brain is added to the vessel, the alien emerges. In other words, an alien emerges from the union of the human brain and the alien vessel?

The will of the human or the character of the "person" expressed by the brain would seem to be contingent to the physical matter of the brain.

An alien, of alien skin, emerges, yes.
Yes, but in love of being highly technical, would the literal physical matter of the brain be relevant to its mental contents? (assuming there aren't chunks missing or something)

My understanding is that the brain is the "most obvious" physical demarcation of a collection of various interconnected tissues. In "reality", it is hopelessly intertangled with the rest of the body in such a way that even the body and the brain have to be largely contingent.

As an organ, it's the arrangement of the electrical signals at any one point in time that expresses our consciousness through what is, by today's science and philosophy, a mysterious process.

Though the arrangement of the signals might seem capable of infinite recombinations, the tissues themselves are not alterable (unless surgery is implemented). The permanent state of the tissues is what preserves the concept of personality within us. Because everyone's tissues are different, we have certain tendencies of electrical arrangement, which mark our character tendencies.

In other words, without surgery, I cannot fathom a dramatic shift in character through exposure to a body alone, since much of the body's functions---if not nearly all---are related to the functioning of the brain.

There is none such a dramatic character shift as that of a human to alien, I would imagine!

This all makes me wonder how it was so seamless for the guy in the film to be in correspondence with the new body.

To preserve two separate tendencies at once within a single permanent arrangement of tissues seems impossible.

Then the movie is flawed (even more). Lowering my rating.

I saw'd it real quick! (skipped a bunch of parts near the end 'cause it was late and I was only interested in the final scene anyway)

Nevertheless, the visual language of the film wins out in explaining to me the gist of what was happening. I think that the aliens in the film are using the brain more like a power source---similar to a heart---than a medium of consciousness transfer (or whatever!). One of the squid-like things (Matrix reference) seemed to have several brains inside of it... several hearts, making it capable of rejuvenation.

The aliens themselves seem to readily switch brains like, I dunno, old folks switch pacemakers.

Not sure if this is more accurate... however, I did enjoy it for what it was worth and wouldn't go any higher than a 6.0. I do feel they really downplayed interesting conversation for action during the "high-speed" tracking shot. I always thought the most heart-pounding, fascinating moments in similar films involved panicked discussion and speculation... I think this is what made Cloverfield so "ethereal".

All in all, effects were quite good, and you will be excited by them at times.

p.s. kid from Six Feet Under is innit