The rise of Dwayne Johnson to
become perhaps the biggest action box office star at present has taken time and
that time has paid off. Not only does he offer up some of the best action
moments on screen these days he also has taken the time to learn how to act as
well. Having started out as a professional wrestler, The Rock, in the WWE he
didn’t follow the path laid out by Hulk Hogan whose movie career took off and
sank quickly, in large part because he simply didn’t learn how to act. Johnson
has learned from that mistake. It shows in his latest film SKYSCRAPER.
Johnson plays Will Sawyer, an FBI
agent who loses his left leg in the opening segment of the film. Time passes
and he is now off the force and married to his surgeon Sarah (Neve Campbell).
The couple have two children, twin children Georgia and Henry (McKenna
Roberts and Noah Cottrell). With the help of one of his old FBI friend Ben,
Will has a new job checking out the security and safety systems for the largest
skyscraper ever built.
Wealthy Chinese entrepreneur Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han) has
invested in this building, a self-sufficient living space he intends to open to
families, a city in itself. Called The Pearl the building is three times as
tall as the Empire State building and will house not just families but gardens,
stores and more as well. The insurance company refuses to insure the building
until the final inspection. Will is there to take care of that while his family
is the only group living in the building so far.
Will is provided with a tablet housing the building’s
security. An attempt to steal it is foiled but there is a traitor among those
working in the building. Kores Botha (Roland Moller), a terrorist and
professional criminal has taken over the building and the tablet as well as the
security codes are now his. Will is offsite after escaping from kidnappers
working for Botha. He knows his family is still there and he heads back to
rescue them.
Botha has set one of the mid-floors on fire, the flames
intensifying and moving upward, no longer impeded by the fire safety systems he
had shut down. Not only is Will’s family still trapped above the floor where
the fire broke out, Zhao Long Ji is still in the building as well on the top
floors with the insurance investigator and his security team. Police are locked
out of the system, the elevators are shut down and now only Will can save them
all IF he can make it into the building.
Combine elements of DIE HARD and THE TOWERING INFERNO along
with a number of other action flicks, mix well and the end result is a cake
that taste like no other. Many will say that this film is exactly like those
but it has enough ingredients of its own to make it a singular picture unlike
those it borrows loosely from. Most notable of those it the fact we’re
presented with an amputee hero, something I’m not sure has ever been done
before and definitely not to the extent it is here.
Johnson handles the role of Will quite admirably with
several layers he has to contend with. The most expected is the heroic action
star which he’s already shown he can handle. But here he also has to be able to
make us believe he is that amputee in every scene he’s in. Add to that the
loving and caring family man. Now toss in the fact that beneath it all is a man
who’s still trying to find his place in life after his accident, unsure of
himself and afraid that he’ll make a mistake. It isn’t until his family is
truly on the line that his instincts kick in and he takes on the role of hero.
The rest of the cast does fantastic job as well. With the
exception of several episodes of HOUSE OF CARDS Neve Campbell hasn’t done a
whole lot lately. It’s nice to see her at it again and she deserves more roles
like this. And both Roberts and Cottrell do a great job as their children.
Moller takes on the role of villain with ease and Han as the under siege
billionaire does a great job as well.
But this movie being the action picture that it is and in
the setting it has chosen is also about special effects. There are plenty on hand
here to enjoy and they are amazingly done. Let’s be honest this is a CGI
(Computer Generated Image) movie and they’ve made it all believable. From the
prosthetic leg to the building itself, everything looks real.
The end result here is a popcorn movie that will have your
palms sweating and your pulse racing. And in the middle of it all you’ll
develop an admiration for duct tape as well. Don’t ask why, just watch and find
out. If some duct tape companies don’t get a sales boost from this movie it won’t
be for lack of trying. For a fun fueled ride take a leap of faith just like
Will does trying to get into this skyscraper and have some fun.
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