Skyscraper (2018) | Film Review

It’s almost ironic that 30 years ago this month, John McClane foiled the plans of Hans Gruber in Die Hard, essentially crashing the worst Christmas party in history. For even with the passing of time, this formula – one man, against all odds, takes on a gaggle of terrorists in an enclosed space – proves just as sustainable in 2018 with Skyscraper, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson proves he can handle foes just as efficiently sans a leg. Welcome to the party, indeed.

Will Sawyer (Johnson) is a man in need of a comeback. After losing his leg and his team’s respect in an FBI hostage rescue gone bad, Sawyer has veered into analyzing security risks for major corporations. His former teammate has even arranged for him to assess multibillionaire Zhao Long Ji’s (Chin Han) latest skyscraper known as The Pearl, the tallest building in the world that serves as a virtual fortress which extends seemingly a mile into the clouds deep in the heart of Hong Kong.

Shortly after Sawyer completes his analysis, several international terrorists (led by A Bluebird in My Heart’s Roland Møller) set the 96th floor on fire, disable the counter measures, and set out to locate a mysterious item worthy of death and destruction. All of this occurs, of course, while Sawyer’s wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and their kids are trapped inside. This leads to Will being forced to find a way inside in order to save his family before either the terrorists or the flames win.

Reteaming with his Central Intelligence director Rawson Marshall Thurber, Dwayne Johnson continues to deliver Rock solid results as an entertainer with panache. So why does he continue to pick roles that fail to capitalize on this? Skyscraper isn’t a bad movie by any means (in fact, I can see this becoming a perfect complement to a late-night binge fest on the TNT network), but it certainly could have utilized the big guy in better fashion than what Thurber manages here.

Johnson has nary a quip throughout the film, which negates the mindless fun a bit by taking itself far too serious, and his false leg ends up being nearly as pointless as the terrorist’s motives. Other than giving The Rock some miniscule measure of vulnerability while facing down insurmountable odds with ease, what was really the point of a detachable appendage? Couldn’t he have at least used it as a big ass boomerang while wrangling thugs in the stairwells? Johnson is talented, no doubt, but Thurber systematically misidentifies the best way to utilize him over and over again.

Neve Campbell, on the other hand, kicked all kinds of ass. An actress known more for running from masked killers than towards them, Sarah is no wilting flower. In fact, I’d have much rather watched the irony of Campbell lunging into a burning building to save The Rock than the other way around. It was unexpected, refreshing, and left me desperately needing to see Neve Campbell brutalize a few more humans on a grander scale immediately.

There are a few moments of genuine intensity, as Thurber’s direction while Johnson scales a crane marked every box in my “oh, hell no” checklist. It is always a compliment to any director who can elicit a squirm in your seat when a character we know cannot die dangles near certain death. These moments, while sparse, were executed flawlessly.

Skyscraper is advertising their film as an original work in a summer flooded with franchise films. That marketing team might be higher than The Pearl’s window washers. Throughout the film you’ll see reflections of the obvious (Die Hard, The Towering Inferno) and also less direct nods like Point Break, Total Recall, even a little Forrest Gump. There is nothing here you haven’t seen before, but that doesn’t alleviate its thrilling moments. It just never achieves the heights of its predecessors.

At the end of it all, we’re just left with that feeling of Yippee, Sky. Yay.