[yasr_overall_rating]
A father goes to great lengths to save his family from a burning skyscraper.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was known as his Luke Hobbs character in “The Fast and the Furious” movies, but not in this film. This movie doesn’t set the course for a thrilling ride of a lifetime nor a good taste of any action movies, compared to the “Die Hard” films. It is extremely difficult to see Johnson’s character spring into action as part of the 30th anniversary of the famous action film, “Die Hard,” produced in 1988. In this film, former FBI agent, Will Sawyer (Johnson), is living in the tallest and safest skyscraper in Hong Kong with his family, known as the Pearl. But when a group of terrorists take over the skyscraper, he must rescue his family from the tower before they get themselves killed.
As far as action films go, “Skyscraper” truly deserves a gold star on three things: the villains (including the leader Roland Møller), the humor, and Johnson’s performance during the second half of the movie. It’s not terribly surprising that the terrorists’ group haven’t got any money nor take advantage of a rich person’s (or people’s) values. These kinds of roles are really hard to play throughout the course of this film. Based on the events herein, it is a stunning callback from the aspects of 9/11. Extremely meaningless to come up with a story and casting, but Johnson is the best bet for this story after his “Fast and Furious” movies and the “Jumanji” sequel.
The rest of the film doesn’t sound very enjoyable as the plot is very cheesy and clichéd. The same applies to the supporting actors, Chin Han, Neve Campbell, and Noah Taylor. Even the child actors, McKenna Roberts and Noah Cottrell, aren’t helping at all. The movie itself and the action sequences aren’t as well-done as far as action goes, compared to thrilling films like “Air Force One,” “Speed,” and “Top Gun,” as well as not indulging the CGI methods being assisted for a greater height. Considering this action stunt-gig, director Rawson Marshall Thurber also collaborated with Johnson in “Central Intelligence,” which was okay according to the audiences.
Overall, “Skyscraper” is mediocre as Johnson’s character doesn’t match the quality of Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford. I’d highly suggest renting this rather than purchasing it. I wouldn’t watch it again and would recommend you pick another action picture to see, like “Ant-Man and the Wasp” or “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” It’s not a bad movie, taking into consideration how goofy much of the setup is.
In theaters Friday, July 13th
