Dwayne Johnson gives his all in this derivative blockbuster.
When you see that Dwayne Johnson is headlining a movie, your first thought shouldn’t be to think that it has Awards Season potential. Sure, he may decide to switch up his career as he gets older, but he loves choosing films that play it safe and entertain his audience in a pleasing way. He knows his audience and he plays the same character well every time. Watching the trailers for Skyscraper, I knew exactly what to expect from this movie, and although there’s definitely more heart to the movie than I was expecting, if you’ve seen the trailers and predict the way this film plays out in your head, you’ve pretty much already seen it. Skyscraper is a disposable action flick, but it’s absolutely worth a watch and here’s why.
The premise is very simple; an ex-military operative has lost his leg in an explosion and now owns a security company and wishes to be in touch with the people who are about to finish constructing the tallest building in the world. With a unique design, many things can and will go wrong. Thrust into action once evil men take over the building, he must find a way through the building and back to his family, who are held hostage. The plot plays out from there exactly how you think it would, but it’s the particular moments that will thrill audiences and the devotion that Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) has to his family.It seems like I’m beating a dead horse in stating that this film is elevated by the charisma of Johnson, but it truly is. Not only is he as likable as ever, but he takes on a more dramatic role here, leaving out a lot of the comedy. He and Neve Campbell (who plays his wife Sarah) have surprisingly solid chemistry here and that aspect of this particular film is what had me wanting to root for him to succeed. That being said, if you’re hoping this film isn’t quite like the promotional material and that it takes itself a little more seriously than having its leading man jumping from a crane onto the tallest building in the world, then this definitely won’t impress you all that much.
Check out KJ's review of Skyscraper via @Yeahflix. Click To TweetThe one drawback to this movie, in my opinion, was the over-the-top set pieces. This movie decides to take itself very seriously at times and the performances work very well in that respect, but when you have a man dangling outside of a building, with nothing but a rope and wrapped prosthetic leg keeping him alive, the notion of “suspension of disbelief” only goes so far to save it. Many viewers may find the set pieces to be incredibly entertaining (I surely did), but I found they didn’t particularly mesh with the movie that was being told. This film tries to reach the levels that the original Die Hard did, and for that reason alone, the ridiculous action slightly took away from the experience.
In the end, Skyscraper delivers on pretty much everything it promises and even adds a layer of emotion when looking at the family dynamic. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber knows how to make a fun action movie and that’s exactly the word I would use to describe a movie like this. It almost seems cliche to call a movie like Skyscraper “fun,” but that’s the best word to describe this movie without sounding negative. It’s about as derivative and generic as action movies come, but it pulls everything off pretty well, making for a solid watch. It’s not going to win any standing ovations, but it will surely serve as a fun blockbuster to see this summer. If you’re looking for an easy watch at the movies, I’d recommending checking out Skyscraper.
Watch the Skyscraper Trailer
KJ's Review of Skyscraper
Summary
Skyscraper is about as derivative and generic as action movies come, but it pulls everything off pretty well, making for a solid watch. It’s not going to win any standing ovations, but it will surely serve as a fun blockbuster to see this summer. If you’re looking for an easy watch at the movies, check out Skyscraper.
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