Apparently, Dwayne Johnson learned something from Kevin Hart on the set of Central Intelligence. It was to never say “no” to a project after a certain dollar amount. That seems to be the case with Skyscraper, which would’ve fit into cinemas much more effectively twenty years ago as a Die Hard clone but set in the world’s largest skyscraper.
Simple premise: Johnson is a security consultant brought in to assess the building’s security and safety measure. When terrorists take over it’s up to Johnson, a wounded war veteran, to save the day.
Whereas throwaway popcorn fare like San Andreas had an ensemble of talent and interesting visuals to balance a silly narrative about surviving a massive earthquake, Skyscraper doesn’t have much going for it other than “Cheer The Rock on, ok.”
It’s spectacularly on visuals alone, of course, but this is a film that felt more substantial in theaters than it does on a television. If you’re going to watch this find the biggest screen you can. It’s a visual feast and things like character development don’t matter all that much throughout. This is a film of visuals and big booming sound so if you’re an a/v geek, this is the sort of film that’s weirdly a must own.
A ton of EPK pieces but nothing that gives us a ton of insight into the filmmaking process.
Universal presents Skyscraper Written and Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han. Run Time: 102 minutes Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: 10.9.18
