After a life-changing incident, ex FBI Hostage Rescue Leader Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) is now a professional assessor who investigates the security and safety of businesses all around the world. Will is soon called to investigate what will be the most significant and tallest building in Hong Kong. While Will investigates and has meetings with his client, he, his wife and two children get to live in the building as honoured guests. It’s not long until the building and the few inhabitants are attacked by an unknown group of trained killers, Will’s family of course still inside the building. Level by level the building catches on fire, and the blaze only goes higher up each minute. It is up to Will to enter the building and save his family as well as the other lives that are still in the building.
The biggest strength for Skyscraper is what you would typically expect- Dwayne Johnson, who manages to bring a few chuckles and brainless action scenes to the screen. I feel this is the same type of film and performance the actor has already delivered in movies such as Rampage or Journey 2.
As the film begins, we as the audience are spoon feed details and information. This information will be useful later in the movie. One example is when Will explains that sometimes to fix technology, you just need to turn it off and on again to fix the bug. Could this factor be handy later in the film? Sadly yes. Otherwise, these types of scenes serve no purpose. It feels like everyone (and everything) we see at the start of the film will naturally be critical information as the film progresses. In the end, many (if not all) outcomes of the plot were predictable, and this film doesn’t deliver any surprises (Die Hard did this the best in my opinion).
As for the film’s villains, they are weak and given zero character development. Will is the critical character focused on in this film, and is the only one that has a valid purpose or any form of backstory. Understanding the villain’s motives here or gaining any understanding as to their thought process goes right out the window.
Overall, Skyscraper delivers what I expected based on viewings of the film’s trailers beforehand. This film has a predictable plot along with popcorn action. There is nothing new other than adding Dwayne Johnson into the action mix. As the lead role, he is the better part of this film. I found this film to be ridiculous, which sometimes is all you need for a movie night.
5.3/10
Thank you for visiting! Walkden Entertainment is also available on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walkdenentertainment/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkdenentertainment/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Peter_Walkden/
Review Written by Peter Walkden
0 Comments