Some of us are old enough to remember an old movie called The Towering Inferno. Released in 1974, the film was set atop a massive tower that was poorly constructed. When the building catches fire, the occupants become trapped above the fire line. It was possibly last in a sequence of disaster films that were popular in that era. The concept was renewed in 1988 with Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Skyscraper appears to revisit the genre with a new twist. Not necessarily better, just bigger.
Will Sawyer (Duane Johnson) is a former FBI HRT Team member. When a suicide vest takes his right leg, his career is ended. Ten years later, Will is married to the combat medic who treated him following the explosion. He and Sarah (Neve Campbell) have two twins, Georgia (McKenna Roberts) and Henry (Noah Cottrell). Will's small security firm has been hired to conduct a full security assessment of the world's tallest skyscraper, called the Pearl. His former partner Ben (Pablo Schreiber) helped him land the deal which will put Will's company on the map. Will's assignment requires him to pair with a state-of-the-art security software that will allow him full access to the systems to conduct his review.
Will doesn't realize that the job is a set up. His tablet is taken by shady underworld figures so they can hack the building security systems and set it ablaze. The organized crime bosses from three syndicates are working together to retrieve a software drive that contains information on syndicate members. Will's family becomes trapped in the building, which is set ablaze to flush out the building's owner, Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han). Will must find a way to get above the fire line (nearly 100 floors above ground level), and save his family. Will's heroics belie the fact that he has a synthetic leg as he engages in death-defying (and reality defying) antics to rescue his wife and children.
Skyscraper would have us believe that gravity doesn't exist. It was suggest that duct tape can keep you clinging to a building a thousand feet off the ground. It would suggest that a raging fire through a hundred floors of a building would not cause it to crash to the ground. It would make us believe that a thousand vertical feet of fire could be extinguished nearly instantly without depriving the building of all oxygen (otherwise our lead characters would be dead). This is not a story that even remotely attempts to be credible. It is completely ridiculous. So, can a film completely throw reality out the window and be engaging? Of course. It happens all the time. Skyscraper manages this feat by giving us plenty of action and great CGI along with an interesting concept for a backdrop. The characters are a bit flat, there are clear lines of good vs. evil, and the struggles are external. The film goes to great lengths to contrive action, but this is an action film that will take your breath away with the incredible visual qualities. If you are expecting something mentally stimulating, forget it. This story is tripe. But if you like good suspense, action and visuals, this film delivers.
Duane Johnson can carry a film that has little value. He creates likable characters who are generally just a little bit self-depreciating. I like Johnson and tend to view his films through the same lens. He has done some good ones, but he is in a lot of mediocre films. His recent release Rampage is a good example, although I gave that film a non-recommendation. On the other hand, I really liked Jumanji. Johnson is the star of this film. The casting around him was solid. The characters were flat but believable. I particularly like Campbell as his wife, even though we don't see much of her.
Skyscraper received a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. The film has a smidgen of strong language but mostly tense action sequences and violence. There are several shooting sequences and a suicide bomber in this film. The rating seems to stem mostly from the violence, although the tension from the visual qualities of this film stem from a ridiculous budget that hit 125 million dollars. That's insane to me. With that kind of budget on the line, they should seriously have considered improving the script. Grant it, this film was largely saved by the visual qualities and action. But that kind of budget for a mediocre film blows me away. Any age should be fine for this film. The gore factor is low, the action factor is high.
Skyscraper has an imperfect script. The dialogue is cheesy at times, the concept is derivative, the characters are hackneyed, the action beyond credible. Throw science out the window. Remove yourself from the real world, and you may enjoy this film. The budget allowed for some incredible action sequences with visual qualities that will have you gripping the edge of your seat. The actors are likeable, adding a bit of extra value to an otherwise mediocre film. If you are looking for mindless fun with lots of action, this is it. This film could have been so much better. As is, I give Skyscraper a mild recommendation. 6/10.
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