Beyond Skyline (2017)

I will spoil Skyline (2010) and Beyond Skyline (2017) more than I usually spoil movies I review. If you want to see them unspoiled you should watch them before reading this.

Skyline was zombie movie where zombies where replaced by aliens until the sequel bait ending. It had all characters dying or getting captured by alien and aliens winning all over the world. Then movie goes inside alien ship where we see male and female lead alive. Male lead's brains are put to alien body but he didn't become mindless slave like others. He fight other aliens and save female lead. Movie ends them still being inside alien ship. I liked movie before alien ship part. It didn't feel like it should have been in the movie.

Beyond Skyline shows why it was in the movie. It was main part of this movie's story arc. Movie starts showing group of other people during events of Skyline. Survivors end up in same space ship as first movie's male and female lead. Then aliens leave. David Zayas' plan was correct in first movie. If they stayed hidden they would have survived. Beyond Skyline goes down when they enter space ship. Just like in Skyline except this time it happens on first third of the movie.

Beyond Skyline doesn't bring much what wasn't introduced in Skyline. Beyond Skyline explains what we saw in Skyline. That is the problem. Aliens worked better as mysterious unstoppable force. Beyond Skyline explains them as ancient astronauts who created mankind. I am always lost when movie does this. Ancient aliens and intelligent design takes away science fiction credibility in my eyes. Beyond Skyline uses both of them.

Aliens created us to be harvested every two thousand years or something like that. That explains why aliens light make humans zombie like and why human brains fit to alien bodies. Problem is that aliens don't act like we are harvested every two thousand years. They try to catch everyone. It would create evolutionary bottle necks around the world when almost everyone is gone from different areas. There might not be anyone to be harvested next time. Before you say mankind have survived things like plagues, you have to realize plagues haven't killed over 95% of population like aliens do in Skyline movies.

It is interesting premise is based on intelligent design but evolution is main plot point. Mankind has evolved so that some of us can keep our personality when our brains are put into alien body. Skyline's male lead was one of those people. One character in this movie is another. Skyline's male and female leads' daughter is kind of chose one of this movie series. Yes, she was established in first movie even though it wasn't used much there. Daughter's blood can free human brains in alien bodies from slavery. If first movie is more like zombie movie this one was action movie where they escape aliens with daughter.

Beyond Skyline being action movie causes problems. It means characters can kill aliens easier than in first movie. Characters can do this because aliens forget to use their light several times when it would have been best option. Humans even go out doors to fight against aliens who can fly and harvest people from air using zombifying lights. Lucky for our heroes aliens didn't use light and fought hand to hand using human sized aliens. They used earlier much bigger aliens. Aliens aren't similar threat here. They are obstacles to overcome.

I am disappointed. Skyline made me care about boring and unlikable characters. Beyond Skyline starts with interesting characters and turn them into hero mode. If there is conflict between characters it is solved in next scene never to be returned. Conflict may not have any build up. It is brought up in scene and solved in next. I expected this to be better version of Skyline but got movie where worst of Skyline was boosted. To underline they don't know what they were doing movie ends with bloopers. They ended serious movie, where aliens harvested most of the human race, with bloopers. I guess both movies had to end disappointing way.