Skyscraper (2018 Film) Review
Dwayne Johnson stars in "Skyscraper," along with actors Neve Campbell, Chin Han, and Roland Møller. The film is about Johnson's character, Will Sawyer, a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team member, now an amputee, who has to save his family from invading terrorists in an out-of-control skyscraper.
This film is written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, whose previous directing credits include "We're the Millers" and "Central Intelligence," another action film that starred Dwayne Johnson. Along with starring, Johnson produces "Skyscraper" with Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, and Mary Parent.
Overall Thoughts
Ever since I first saw the trailer for "Skyscraper," I was one of the many people to say, "It's 'Die Hard' with the Rock." I normally choose to give a film the benefit of the doubt before I see it, but considering that it has a similar plot and is releasing a mere two days from the thirtieth anniversary of "Die Hard," it was hard to think otherwise leading up to watching the film. In the end, the doubting didn't work as "Skyscraper" proved to be exactly what I thought it would be: "Die Hard" with the Rock. Granted, there's many differences between the two films when you begin to delve into the stories as a whole, but in basic structure, this is another version of that classic Christmas film, only this one is rated PG-13 and isn't set on Christmas.
You might be thinking, "Okay, so what if it's "Die Hard" all over again? Is the movie still entertaining?" Kind of. Everything leading up to the hostile takeover is interesting as we learn the background of Dwayne Johnson's Will Sawyer. We see how he ends up being an amputee, how he meets his future wife, and why he chose to retire from the FBI. When things end up going horribly awry, that's when "Skyscraper" got predictable and lost the few things I found entertaining about it. From then on, I felt that I guessed everything that was going to happen before they did. As a result, it was only a matter of waiting for said action to take place. Between all the chaos, we cut to the rest of Will Sawyer's family, his wife and two kids. I could've cared less about the family. Because they're formulaic characters, I found myself disappointed whenever we'd cut away from what Johnson was doing, to find out the status of his family.
The Cast
In my opinion, it's hard to call any of the performances outstanding. All the actors do good jobs, but I didn't feel that I had formed an emotional connection to any of the characters in "Skyscraper."
To the surprise of no one, Dwayne Johnson comes off as the most developed and likable character in the film. Johnson is giving everything he's got into his role and you can sense his dedication and passion for his part and for the film overall. That said, I don't think that I entirely cared if his character made it out of any of the hazardous situations that he finds himself in. I know that I made it seem like he had a interesting history to explore, but the background given to his character goes by so quick, that he hardly get development for his character even after things go awry. The film is inconsistent with its pacing. It chooses to linger on the things that don't need as much focus and that leaves little room for fleshing out the characters. The Rock is charismatic and entertaining in his part, but I needed to know a little more about of his character in order to form an attachment to him.
His family was hardly engaging. I feel like the film was at its most predictable when they were in peril. The wife and kids are the traditional characters that you'd see in most disaster films. They'd always be in distress, or panicked about the unfolding terror, but due to the lack of real danger, I found the performances from each of the three actors to be unconvincing. Their personalities are by-the-book. They are there to support the main character and do very little in combating the opposing forces. I believe the Mum got in a few good punches and even stabbed a guy, but beyond that, I couldn't remember any resourcefulness that the family displayed. I feel like I shouldn't be that hard on the rest of the Sawyer family, but if it weren't for a few resourceful decisions, they'd be a dead weight on the film overall, particularly the kids.
Aside from having the worst of luck, (I mean, first Batman comes to Hong Kong to kidnap him, and now a group a terrorists want to tear down his building) Chin Han was surprisingly enjoyable as Zhao Long Ji, the mind behind The Pearl. While Zhao is one of those stereotypical suits that has a secret to hide, Chin Han made the most of it. Like Dwayne Johnson, you can tell he was giving a hundred percent into the role, unlike the script which gave him almost nothing to accomplish. Still, that didn't hinder his ability to have fun in the part and he successfully manages to maintain his gentlemanly attitude throughout all his scenes.
Action/CGI
For a film that highlights the action scenes in its marketing the most, "Skyscraper" has very little in the way of exciting or nail-biting confrontations. The heavily-marketed scene in which Dwayne Johnson's Will Sawyer hangs precariously from the fictitious tallest building in the world, proves to be quite underwhelming. Mainly because most of it was seen in the trailers. That, and because there was no question as to whether the character would make it out alive. I knew that the character was safe because it was clear that Dwayne Johnson was simply dangling from wires in front of a green screen, which brings me to, what I believe, the biggest miscalculation made by the minds of "Skyscraper."
Score
During the film, there was a point where the score energized a scene pivotal to the plot of the film that actually boosted my viewing experience. It was at that point where I wondered who composed the score. I didn't check beforehand because I merely predicted that "Skyscraper" would have a score that'd fail to approach being decent. When the credits rolled, I eagerly awaited the reveal of the composer. By now, you've likely glanced at the picture that I've laid out beside/above this paragraph.
As it turns out, Steve Jablonsky composed the score for "Skyscraper." That's right, the man behind the music for "Ender's Game" and the person who is able to plus even the worst "Transformers" film, composed the music for this film. Here, he does the best job that he could in such a position. In a film where very little stands out, it didn't take much for Jablonsky to make a score that did so. Yet, he still composed music that may not feature the grandest of orchestras, but still retained the passion that he gives to his other works. The quiet and energized beats add a much-needed layer of tension to the action sequences. As helpful as it is though, it's not a score that I'm likely to revisit. I feel like while it does help stable a rickety foundation, the score is not without its quirks.
Grade: C-
Despite having decent performances and a surprisingly energizing score, "Skyscraper" is another run-of-the-mill disaster film sporting a predictable plot, action sequences without tension, and underwhelming CGI. Unless a disaster film is your sweet spot, you should wait until "Skyscraper" is available to rent to watch it, and even then, I have a hard time recommending that you do so.
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