Skyline (Blu-ray)

By David Vaughn • Posted: Mar 25, 2011

A birthday weekend in Southern California goes off the tracks when sunrise arrives two hours early while a mysterious light source draws unsuspecting humans outdoors and are swept into massive alien ships that have appeared over the Los Angeles skyline.

There are a lot of bad movies that come out of Hollywood, but Skyline may be the worst I've seen in years. Character development is non-existent, the dialog is cringe-inducing, and the ridiculous twist ending is the cherry on top of a steaming pile—yes, it's that bad.

Video Highlights

AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
Decent detail
Mostly deep blacks with adequate shadow detail
Accurate color palette
Seamless visual effects

Audio Highlights

DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
Excellent dynamics
Ample bass
Occasional discrete effects from the surround speakers
Intelligible dialog (unfortunately)

Although the movie is pure trash, the audio and video presentation is very good and features an excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack and first-rate visual effects.

Bonus Materials

Commentary with directors Greg and Colin Stause
Commentary with co-writer/producer Liam O'Donnell and co-writer Joshua Cordes
Deleted & Alternate Scenes
Animation pre-visualization
Theatrical Trailer
BD-Live Enabled

I love the sci-fi genre but this production is pretty bad. In fact, I'm not sure it would garner much of an audience on cable TV. Granted, the A/V is pretty impressive but even it can't overcome the horrendous script and poor acting. Skip it!

Release Date: March 22, 2011
Studio: Universal

Movie: 1/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 9/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS40 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics

Comments

Submitted by aopu.mohsin on March 27, 2011 - 10:40pm.

Thanks for the heads up, David! I almost rented this bluray today. I usually check few websites for movie reviews before I buy or rent. Your reviews certainly tops my list, as I tend to agree with your comments almost all the time.

So, thank you.

Submitted by David Vaughn on March 28, 2011 - 9:31am.

Thanks for the kind comments. As for this film, you're better off choosing a movie blind from the shelf and have nearly a 100% chance of picking something more entertaining and worth your hard-earned dollar!!!