Skyscraper Reviews

What do you get when you mix The Towering Inferno with Die Hard and then use the vague framework of Jurassic Park to deliver that chimera to an audience? Well, in an ideal world you'd get an awesome movie, however, we do not live in that reality. We currently reside in a timeline where Skyscraper exists. That is really the long and short of trying to explain this movie: it merely exists. It does not realize any of its goals, it does not innovate, it does not use infuse old concepts with renewed vigor...it just exists. And, because it fails miserably to assert itself in any relevant way, it also fades into the recesses of one's mind where it might occasionally stir a distant memory of one having partaken of its less-than-stellar existence. 

The story follows Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson), former Marine and FBI hostage team leader who, after a botched rescue that robs him of one of his legs, enters the world of private security. Asked to greenlight the readiness of the security system of a high tech skyscraper in China, he soon finds himself in the midst of a terroristic plot that not only endangers that very building but also his family as the tower is slowly consumed by fire.  

Credit where credit is due, the actors are capable for the requirements of an actioneer (yes, even Johnson), the effects well rendered, and the core characters aren't just thrown into the fray as soon as possible for the sake of thrills. HOWEVER, the antagonists prove anemic and unimpactful and, worse, the feeling of "been there, done that" never leaves your mind. To add insult to injury, every film this one evokes memory of has done it exponentially better. 

However, the thinly-veiled inspiration does not necessarily mean its aspiring to be as good as the movies it cribs from. If you happen to be looking for a brief distraction that promises no more than digestible (if forgettable) action then this might suit you. Or...maybe not. There is, you see, a distinct issue with this picture: it lacks any form of suspense or sense of danger for its lead. So much so, that eventually his "struggles" become utterly empty and, at times, laughable. 

This is not the worst movie ever but it is devoid of any heft, of any tension, of any memorable moment. It is filler with a shiny gloss that fails to obscure the absolute void of creativity.