ReelBob: ‘Skyscraper’ ★★
By Bob Bloom
“Skyscraper” is a cinematic mix tape — a greatest-hits stew of familiar situations from “Die Hard” and “The Towering Inferno.”
That the audience is, from the outset, one step ahead of the movie is not necessarily a deterrent.
Rather, it allows you to simply kick back and enjoy the hokum of this action-thriller set in the 220-story, newly built, Hong Kong structure that is the center of the film.
Dwayne Johnson stars as Will Sawyer, a former FBI hostage rescue team leader and U.S. war veteran, who now makes a living assessing security for skyscrapers.
Sawyer, his wife, Sarah (Neve Campbell), and their two children are at the Hong Kong skyscraper, so Sawyer can assess the building’s security protocols to make sure no flaws are evident.
The MacGuffin the bad guys want is something that the structure’s designer and builder Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han) has secreted in his vault-like, penthouse living quarters.
The villains devise an elaborate scheme that involves stealing from Sawyer a computer pad for checking on the building’s systems, setting a fire on the 96th floor and hijacking a control center linked to the structure.
It may sound complicated, but it’s rather simple. Figuring out who’s who also is quite easy. You can discern that one guy is crooked because of the tacky suit he wears.
What sets “Skyscraper” apart from other action films is that Johnson’s Sawyer has a prosthetic lower leg, having been injured in an FBI hostage situation that went terribly wrong.
And portraying him as capable of performing amazing feats with that attachment is an agreeable twist and cause for recognition.
But, I felt a bit uncomfortable during some sequences, as if the filmmakers were downplaying the challenges that come with wearing a prosthetic.
I also believe the prosthetic was an unneeded plot device, probably added simply to make Sawyer a more dynamic hero, as well as to distract from some of the film’s flaws.
Johnson’s charisma carries the movie, and it seems he has reached a point in his career where he can seek more challenging roles without harming his appeal.
It’s also good to see Campbell back on screen. She is no wallflower wife. She kicks ass and takes names just as her screen spouse does.
The villains are simply one-dimensional archetypes defined by either their accents or outfits.
The CGI fire effects are fine, but they are ordinary, lacking the “personality” of sequences in such movies as Ron Howard’s “Backdraft.”
Basically, “Skyscraper” is a guilty-pleasure, formulaic feature that is silly and easy to swallow. Sure, it’s absurd and exciting but surprisingly lacks suspense or tension.
The main draw is watching Johnson’s Sawyer beating the odds basically with part of one leg behind his back.
I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
SKYSCRAPER
2 stars out of 4
(PG-13), sequences of action violence, language