Dwayne Johnson has had more than his fair share of time in the jungle. Now, he’s taking on the concrete jungle in Skyscraper, the latest from writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber who brought us Dodgeball and Central Intelligence.
In Skyscraper, Will Sawyer (Johnson) is a former hostage team leader who struggles with survivor’s guilt about a previous tragedy. He seems to have put his life back together and this all culminates in the most explosive job interview ever. He is vying to be the head of security for The Pearl – the tallest building in the world. However, terrorists give him the worst first day of work ever. It’s then up to Sawyer to save the day, the tower, and most importantly – his family.
Johnson has the presence of an ’80s action star, but with far more likability. He can carry and save any movie regardless of the quality. Once again, this is the case of Skyscraper.
The plot is simple, the Titanic of buildings is on fire and only one man can stop the terrorists. Where it all falls apart (to anyone that pays attention) is the reason why this is all happening. The explanation for why the terrorists are attacking is silly and way too overcomplicated for this kind of campy flick.
Like most of The Rock’s movies, Skyscraper knows what it is. It’s meant to highlight disaster, give you a new fear of heights and display most of Johnson’s charisma. It succeeds decently on each of these themes. It’s an action movie meant to be consumed, enjoyed and quickly forgotten about.
In the scheme of things, Skyscraper will only be remembered for one thing. It’s the movie where The Rock has a prosthetic leg.
The majority of the cast is there to chew the scenery, but the standout here is Neve Campbell, who plays Sarah Sawyer, and actually manages to have chemistry with Johnson. Everyone else just fills their spots. It’s almost laughable at the character reveals of the villains because little is done to hide the fact that they were ever villains in the first place. They might as well be twisting their slick mustaches and smiling at the camera. At one point, the central nondescript Eastern European villain reveals the identity of a mole and asks, “Surprised?” I wanted to answer the movie, “Well, no actually.”
Skyscraper’s stunts are where the movie can’t find what it wants to be. There are gravity-defying moments that seem way too far-fetched in a movie that takes itself very seriously. Though, I’m happy to know that Duct Tape was sponsoring the movie. Now everyone can scale a building with just the right amount of tape stuck on their hands and feet…
Skyscraper is far from objectionable, it’s just entirely forgettable. It will manage to make you laugh, but it won’t be “with” the movie. If nothing else, it proves just how bulletproof The Rock is (even with a fake leg) when it comes to bad movie choices. D+
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