Skylines, 2020.
Directed by Liam O’Donnell.
Starring Lindsey Morgan, Rhona Mitra, Alexander Siddig, James Cosmo, Daniel Bernhardt and Jonathan Howard.
SYNOPSIS:
With the harmony of alien hybrid co-existence under threat Rose Corley (Lindsey Morgan) and her crew set off to a distance planet, with the sole intention of saving mankind.
This tongue in cheek alien slugfest is great fun made more so by some truly committed performances. Lindsey Morgan’s Rose Corley who links back to sequel Beyond Skyline heads the pack as a fugitive from authorities. In a campfire voiceover which finishes on James Cosmo donning an eyepatch, Skylines introduces audiences to a ravaged landscape where harmony remains tenuous.
What follows is Rose’s protracted capture followed by nefarious propositions from Alexander Siddig’s General Radford, which ultimately sends everyone into space. That this happens all in fifteen minutes and never slows down long enough for anyone to care is what makes Skylines so engaging. Director Liam O’Donnell who returns once more having written every other film in this series plays to his strengths, packing pace into every frame and peril behind every corner.
Comparisons with District 9 and Aliens is unavoidable even if things have been tweaked slightly. Chemistry between the cast is self-evident spearheaded in no uncertain terms by Lindsey Morgan’s spirited performance. She is emotive, emotional and sassy sometimes all at once and gives some of her male co-stars a run for their money in terms of balls to the wall grit and gusto. Skylines never pretends to be Shakespeare but still remains savvy enough to acknowledge its influences without subtlety. Liam O’Donnell is clearly a passionate advocate of the science fiction genre and it shows. Set pieces, VFX and pacing are all perfect considering the subject matter, while villains are never hard to spot.
Alexander Siddig’s pantomime big bad fits this film like a glove where he narrowly avoids twirling his moustache and cackling maniacally. Moments from Independence Day also loom large here as B-movie trappings are tapped into with admirable transparency. With fist fights, one liners and gravitas delivered by an underused James Cosmo and Rhona Mitra time passes swiftly. All the money is on screen and attempts to ensure bang for your buck in terms of alien planets, alien ships and production design.
Whether you are a fan of B-movie sci-fi, Skyline the franchise or simply like to see pneumatic leading ladies mainline alien powers to save humanity this might be the film for you. Aimed to entertain and never losing sight of that mantra at any point, Skylines deserves another go round which was clearly on the cards if that ending is anything to go by.
Skylines is showing in select UK cinemas and available digitally On Demand from December 18th.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Martin Carr
Originally published January 10, 2021. Updated January 12, 2021.
