Beyond Skyline

Science fiction films have always been a part of my childhood, starting of in my early years of the VHS era. Back then you could find a lot of bad sci fi films on VHS, that you never heard of. But there were some good releases, and those were the ones you would remember. Around the early 80´s, up until the late 90´s, i have seen quite a lot of releases, until dvd films started taking over. Let´s just mention some of the classics, how about the 1986 film Critters, or the greatest sci fi sequel of all time Aliens from 1986 ? I would also like to mention the 1987 classic The Hidden, a film that does not get mentioned a lot anymore these days. But if there is one sci fi film that should have been respected more in the 90´s, it has to be the 1993 film Fire In The Sky. A sci fi film that is based on a true story by Travis Walton´s book The Walton Experience. I have not read the book, but i have seen interviews with Travis Walton. Now, the film Fire In The Sky turned out to be a well made sci fi film, with a really nice cast included. How about Robert Patrick, Peter Berg, D.B. Sweeney, James Garner, Noble Willingham and many others ? What made Fire In The Sky so special, was that director Robert Lieberman managed to mix serious drama with science fiction, in a positive combination. The scenes on board the space ship, is still today ( almost 25 years later ), still creepy. Fire In The Sky did not get the big audience it deserved, at the time the film came out. Most people probably saw the film on VHS, when the film should had been screened worldwide. If you love sci fi films, you should see Fire In The Sky on dvd. You can find it online on different dvd stores, like Amazon. How many of you have seen the sci fi film Skyline from 2010 ? This was a sci fi film that divided sci fi fans. Some people enjoyed the film, while some really hated the film. Me personally enjoyed some of the special effects, but the acting was terrible. Also, the plot was not any good, so the only thing positive about the film were the CGI effects. For a long time, there did not seem to be any plans of a sequel, so i did not expect a sequel to be made. But then in early 2017, i was reading online that a sequel was coming out. This surprised me a lot, because it has been 7 years since the first film came out. When i read that actor Frank Grillo will be in the lead role, i was happy. He have done a great job in The Purge sequels. With a great lead actor, in an unexpected sequel, is this a sci fi film that deserves respect, or is this even worse than the original film ?

Los Angeles police detective Mark Corley ( Frank Grillo ) is visiting his estranged teenage son, Trent Corley ( Jonny Weston ) who have just landed in jail. Suddenly chaos emerge around Los Angeles, as it seems that humanity is under attack by aliens. Mark manage to escape underground with his son Trent, and with other survivors. They have no idea what these aliens want, or why they are attacking humans. Mark is determined to survive this, no matter what he has to do. 

I have to say, knowing this is a sequel to a film that was not appreciated by all sci fi fans, i think you are in for a surprise. This sequel is actually much better than the first film, and that is something you don´t see everyday. There are a couple of things that this sequel does better than the first film. The cast are actually acting, the action scenes looks more effective, and the battle between aliens and humans works more effective this time around. I would also like to say that the setting around Los Angeles is also a good idea, it makes the film feel more majestic than an apartment building that the first film took place in. I also like that you get a deeper look, inside the aliens spaceships, how they function and how they think. Speaking of battles between aliens and humans, there is a hell of a lot of action scenes in this film. Even martial arts fighting is included into the plot. And this combination actually works, even how strange this sounds. Frank Grillo in the lead role is a really good choice as the lead actor. He knows how to make action scenes, and he knows how to kick ass. To see him do a science fiction film like this, is a pleasant surprise. Perhaps he wanted to try something different, and i think he made the right choice. We even have an actor from The Purge: Election Year in here, that you have seen together with Frank Grillo. Remember the bad ass character Laney Rucker, played by actor Betty Gabriel ? She is still awsome as always, even if she is not in the film Beyond Skyline for a long time. I would love to see Laney Rucker and Frank Grillo do some film together again, because they are so cool on the big screen. There are a lot of CGI in this sequel, but i actually feel that most of it actually looks good. Some details are perhaps a bit over the top, but most of the special effects feel effective. Director Liam O´Donnell actually was one of the producers of the first Skyline film, but this time he is the director of the sequel. And i have to say, he have found a great way to mix the looks of Skyline, but make everything more majestic in this sequel. Everything is not perfect of course, but i have to say that this is one of the best sci fi B movies i have seen in a long time. Beyond Skyline could be one of the highlights in the sci fi genre this new year, and it is just the beginning of 2018. I suggest you buy yourself a dvd, or blu ray copy of the film, and support this film for all the work they put into making this film. Finally science fiction is back on track, i could even hope we have a third Skyline film on the way. 

Rating: DDD