[yasr_overall_rating]
A father goes to great lengths to save his family from a burning skyscraper.
Mark Twain famously criticized his fellow contemporary James Fenimore Cooper, author of ‘The Last of the Mohicans,’ by saying – among other derogatory items – “Every time a Cooper person is in peril, and absolute silence is worth four dollars a minute, he is sure to step on a dry twig. There may be a hundred other handier things to step on, but that wouldn’t satisfy Cooper. Cooper requires him to turn out and find a dry twig; and if he can’t do it, go and borrow one.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson steps on lots of dry twigs in “Skyscraper.” He magically appears in several more scenes just in time to save the moment – and eventually – the day. Portions of the film that should be infinitely more harrowing, given the circumstances, repeatedly fall flat due to the sheer absurdity of the situation. Combined with the knowledge that CGI can make anything possible – except the delivery of a compelling story – the plotline strains credibility to the fullest.
Reportedly shot on a (these days) not excessive – albeit not trivial either – $125 million production budget, “Skyscraper” is basically one more movie modeled after a theme park ride – intended as mindless fluff for summertime audiences. In that regard, it manages to succeed, if only modestly.
Essentially, “Skyscraper” is a transparent Dwayne Johnson action vehicle, with a flimsy narrative pasted over as window dressing. There are a few – far too few in my judgment – worthy one-liners. No doubt, that is because, generally speaking, the filmmakers seem to expect the audience to take this ridiculous story a lot more seriously than is warranted. For example, computer subroutines that must be disabled are designed and housed at the most inconvenient location possible – inside the wind turbine that powers the building. Of course, this is just an excuse for Johnson to get on an outside ledge, where he uses reverse-wrapped duct tape to adhere his hands and feet to the glass and metal exterior of the 240-story building.
Neve Campbell brings in a solid performance as Johnson’s capable wife, who is a seasoned, smart military veteran. Unfortunately, she also steps on a few timely placed twigs and manages – surprise, surprise! – to barely survive by the skin of her own teeth.
In an irritating fashion, “Skyscraper” has borrowed shamelessly from such iconic films as “Die Hard” and “The Towering Inferno,” with hints of “Lethal Weapon.” In every instance, its predecessors are vastly superior.
The chief bad guy in “Skyscraper” is played by Roland Møller, clearly modeled after the “Die Hard” scoundrel played so well by the late Alan Rickman. Needless to say, Rickman’s Hans Gruber goes down in the Villain Hall of Fame for his deliciously devious, yet likable portrayal. It is a nearly impossible act to follow. Møller can’t come close, and one wonders why the filmmakers even tried at all.
At this point in time, Dwayne Johnson has become such an indestructible action hero with so few physical vulnerabilities that writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber felt it necessary to hobble his character in the opening scenes in order to bring him down to earth. Unfortunately, the plot and action – like the film’s centerpiece – are so pie-high in the sky that they incessantly defy any semblance of plausibility. Ultimately, “Skyscraper” is a disappointing exercise in mediocrity at its most blatant.
In theaters Friday, July 13th
