Film review: ‘Skyscraper’

Now more than ever, we need the Rock.|

Now more than ever, we need the Rock. Dwayne Johnson is the only one who can save us from huge earthquakes (in “San Andreas”) or designer beach drugs (in “Baywatch”). This time out, he must scale a blazing Hong Kong tower to save his cute kids in “Skyscraper.” Johnson plays Will Sawyer, an unlucky security consultant at the Pearl, a new construction twice the height of the Burj Khalifa.

Though he’s now wearing a (prodigious) white collar, he used to be a SWAT hostage negotiator - the career move was necessitated when his left leg got blown up in a standoff. Will’s prosthetic doesn’t stop him from doting on his naval surgeon wife Sarah (Neve Campbell), daughter Georgia (McKenna Roberts) and son Henry (Noah Cottrell).

While Will finishes his safety review, his family is hosted at the Pearl, guests of a classic reclusive billionaire named Zhao (Chin Han). In addition to a megamall and an indoor rainforest, the building’s penthouse features a room that uses exterior cameras and interior mirroring to give guests the illusion of walking on air a mile off the ground. Will and Zhao agree - with the hubris found at the beginning of all action thrillers - that The Pearl is, “The safest supertall structure in the world.” Oh, we’ll see about that!

The ruthless Kores Botha (Roland Møller, in his menacing but oddly jocular Danish accent) is intent on smoking out some secret something hidden in the building. Taking cues from the Hans Gruber playbook, he orders his men, “Let’s burn this six-point-five-billion-dollar chimney.” He hacks inside with the assistance of Xia (Hannah Quinlivan), a slinky murderess with an asymmetrical haircut and earrings that resemble The Pearl turned upside down. One hates to critique Will’s work, but it’s not really as hard as you’d think to steal an iPad and take over the entire security and safety system.

“Skyscraper” repeats an old maxim that if you light a man’s house on fire, you’ll find out what he really loves. It turns out that Will loves his family and Zhao loves a particular thumb drive.

For obvious reasons, Will has to skip leg day - but he certainly keeps his arms in shape. You can see that he’s free climbing up a construction crane to the 96th floor of a burning building, where his family is menaced by Botha and his cronies.

“Skyscraper” is written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber - the man who, in “DodgeBall,” penned that immortal line, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” There is no dialogue here as likely to find its way into the American Film Institute’s Best Quotes of the 21st Century. The script is more utilitarian, as when Sarah has to respond to her 6-year-old’s query: “Mom, are we going to die?” “No.” When it comes to Botha negotiating with Will, he’s equally straightforward: “I’m going to throw your daughter off the roof.”

Hilariously, Hong Kong security forces decide it’s too hot for helicopters to approach the burning Pearl… but it’s not too hot for the Rock! The ensuing action utilizes whirl around camerawork and vertiginous effects that show how pleasant it is to live in single story California homes.

A remarkable feature of the film is a repeated shot of the massive crowd standing just outside the Pearl watching a live feed of Will’s heroics on a huge monitor, unconcerned with falling debris or the structure’s imminent collapse. The crowd is a perfect representation of consumer culture - the people are unable to tear themselves away from the thrill of live reality television, even as the towering inferno rains ash on their faces.

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