Loud, Dumb and full of FUN!
Skyscraper is the second blockbuster movie from Dwayne Johnson this season, however instead of chasing hybrid monsters through the city, he is now a one leg amputee that must save his family from a towering inferno building. The premise is simple with a surprisingly tight story that would falter under anyone else who tried to star in it. While it is definitely the “turn your brain off” movie, it is actually a lot of fun with some wild and WOW moments that delivered some fun if you can suspend your belief for the duration of the movie.
Skyscraper follows the story of Will (Dwayne Johnson) a disabled former FBI Hostage Leader who lives in the world’s larger building called The Pearl with his wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and their two children. The building is penned as being a Fort Knox and impenetrable, some bad guys take this as a challenge and infiltrate setting the building on fire. Will uses every tool possible (in particular duct tape) to rescue his family and scale the building to save the day.
The plot and action is as ludicrous as it sounds, the scenes where Johnson is climbing sky cranes, making impossible leaps and the good old hand drop technique are genuinely laughable. They really do take you out of the action and land in comedic territory. This is not a bad thing. This movie pronounces its own ridiculousness and owns every second of it.
While the action may be over the top, the performances are spot on. Johnson is charismatic and engaging as a doting father trying to save his family. Adding in the element of ex FBI and now amputee adds depth to what could have been an easily forgettable character. Similarly Neve Campbell’s return to film is a welcomed one. Once you get past the Scream & Party Of Five nostalgia, her character as a doctor and mother is given depth and you genuinely feel for her kids and the safety of the family. Head bad guy Kores Botha (Roland Moller) has a pretty understandable motivation and while he doesn’t get too much to play with, it is admirable that he can be intimidating when the script calls for it. The owner of the building Zhao (Chin Han) has some great stunt work here to rescue and help the trapped residents and take down the terrorists.
Don’t go into this movie expecting things to make sense or to even try and question the science of it all. The movie deliberately feels like it is not trying to make any kind of point, just have some really great action for actions sake and fortunately it is done so well that it works in its favour. It is a simple blockbuster with a fun personality that is a great addition to this movie season.
Skyscraper is in cinemas now.
