Falling a few inches short of becoming an action classic, Skyscraper never the less succeeds as a high-stakes, high energy action thriller that stars Dwayne Johnson in one of his best performances yet.
Declaring your film to be a love letter to a legendary action classic brings with it a high level of expectation. Yet that is exactly what movie star and one-man marketing machine Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson did with Skyscraper, placing it alongside the hallowed pedigree of none other than Die Hard. Let’s be clear: Skyscraper is no Die Hard. It is, however, a thrilling action movie that once again proves the might of Dwayne Johnson’s action prowess.
Johnson stars as Will Sawyer, a former FBI agent and war veteran who lost a leg during a hostage negotiation turned explosively bad. Now a security expert on skyscrapers, Will has landed the opportunity of a lifetime when given the chance to assess a cutting edge skyscraper in Hong Kong. Yet this new dream job turns into a nightmare, when terrorists seize and set alight the skyscraper, trapping Will’s family inside and framing Will in the process. With steely determination, Will must save his family and defeat the terrorists, as the world watches on.
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence), Skyscraper succeeds on a few fronts. First and foremost is the film setting, a fictional construct of 255 stories and state of the art technology, exactly the kind of playground within which Johnson can do battle against terrorists and the elements alike. Second is the teeth grinding, palm sweating, action scenes featured throughout. Although Thurber’s background is in comedy, he successfully creates tense filled action sequences that clearly utilise the films main ingredient – very tall building, on fire, with no way out – to his advantage. Third and final is the winning performances of Dwayne Johnson, and a welcome return to the big screen by Neve Campbell, who plays Johnson’s wife and the mother to a brood of two.
Although built like a mountain, Johnson can tap into the insecurities of his characters and brings some stakes to play. In portraying an amputee, Johnson plays a character who while not physically whole, is made whole by the adoring family he has dedicated his life to, and woe to those who try to come between The Rock and his little rockettes. Hell, even a flaming tower can’t stop Johnson’s Will Sawyer from scaling epic heights to save his family. What was direly needed in Skyscraper was a villain able to counter what Johnson brings to the screen. Danish actor Roland Moller as terrorist baddie Kores Botha is fine, but is more henchman material than, say, a new-era Hans Gruber.
Skyscraper had high expectations to fill. That it almost does so is testament to the film high energy stakes filmmaking and star wattage.
