Skyscraper

Glancing back over many of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's films since the inception of Rath's Reviews, I've never really given him his downright hit. 

By a quick glance, his most common score is a 7 out of 10 for 5+ films that I quickly went back and researched. With regards to his solo films, he rarely breaks out of that good, but usually forgettable category. 

The one exception to that rule, at least for me, is San Andreas, which I still look back on as one of my favorite disaster films in recent years. A recent watching of it on TV only further confirmed my opinion. 

I find my score research surprising because of how much I like Johnson as a person in nearly all mediums. He's a humble, down-to-earth superstar (at least as much as you can really know a person through social media) and he's found success in everything he touches. Personally, he inspires me in life through his work ethic, his fitness, and his willingness to try new things, but also still have fun. His charisma and charm are good goal posts to strive for and his business acumen is similar. 

So yeah. He's my #mancrush. Has been for a while. 

But while his movies are never ones that have blown my mind or entered a Top 10 List, they're fantastic about delivering exactly what they promise while often being rounded out with heart, humor, and grit. 

Skyscraper, unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, is one such film. There weren't many surprises in store for me upon entering the theater, but I wasn't totally let down either. It was never going to be as good as the films it wanted to emulate simply because there's a nostalgia factor that you can't escape with either Die Hard or The Towering Inferno. Skyscraper is some fun escapism though and it has its tense moments -- nearly all of which have been ruined by the trailers unfortunately. Given how many vertigo shots there are, part of me does wish I saw this one on a larger, 3D screen, but I don't think it would have had more than a half-point impact, if that. It's a quick ride that never really overstays its welcome. A breakneck pace and the core cast family, including a very capable Neve Campbell, helps Johnson to make the trip worthwhile and their relationships endearing. 

Gotta give them credit; The Pearl is a cool design

"Why did Vin Diesel do that?!"

Skyscraper, despite its good intentions, was a film that was missing that something for me. It felt ambitious, but equally like it was going through the motions. It felt like it wanted to pay homage, but dropped some key balls in the process. There are a few main set pieces, but they felt hollow due to a combination of being fleshed out in the trailers, some wonky CGI, and what felt like a lack of a threat for anyone but The Rock. The film feels like it doles out substantial, palpable danger for him, but our villains are such a confusing, useless bunch that it threatens to tear apart the film. Instead of feeling scared for Will's (Johnson) family, you're wondering who the hell is even the one you would have to worry about killing them. The random guy with an accent? The badass Asian chick that the movie almost completely forgets about? The heavily foreshadowed businessman traitor? The film simply can't choose and it makes any scene where it's not Johnson vs. the building or Johnson vs. physics forgettable. Related, and luckily, the building itself seems to take on a villainous personality of its own and does in fact make scenes where it's the focus that much stronger.

It's also during some of the melee combat scenes where the film shows a shaky hand at handling action. It's over-edited regardless, but the hand-to-hand stuff is, aside from an early fight, messy and unappealing. A more deft hand behind the camera and in the cutting room could have made this a really strong action film and pushed the bigger set pieces to be even more intense with some longer, more iconic shots. Instead, you're looking at an action film that will likely get s**t on -- from a technical perspective -- in a couple weeks with the newest Mission: Impossible. Part of me also thinks this film would have been better with an R-rating. I know it seems like a territory Johnson doesn't go to often, but, much in the spirit of Die Hard, some real wounds and blood and death could have gone a long ways to making the henchmen feel more than extras and the hand-to-hand scenes feel more than boxes that got checked. Surprisingly however, Skyscraper has a sneaky great original score that helps it along a considerable amount. It's consistently fitting to the epic scale and in peak scenes it's very well-orchestrated.

That face you make when:
There's some yummy mustard in that other guys
mustache and ya just wanna lick it!

Skyscraper was disappointing, but not all that surprising when I remember what most solo Johnson films result in. Those looking for the next great disaster classic will be sorely disappointed, but I think most will still find it's entertaining, much like I did. A lot of that is due to Johnson and his never-ending charisma but when the film isn't solely on him, it's a bit of a dumb mess.

CONS

• Has a huge villain problem. It can't decide who or what the core baddie should be and it makes the stakes feel lower
• The trailers did a great job at ruining the most impressive parts of the film
• Not the best CGI
• The eventual reveal of the "secret" of why this is all happening is not equivalent to the amount of trouble/destruction that our bad crew is going through
• Feels like something is missing
• Poorly edited melee action and sub-par editing elsewhere
• Would have worked better rated R

PROS

• Johnson is a strong lead, as always. This is one of the first times his character is someone who struggles and shows a lot of doubt, pain, and frustration
• His family, including Neve Campbell, round out the best parts of the cast
• Has some great set pieces that I wish I would have seen in 3D. Moments of the film are intense
• Surprising original score
• The Pearl feels like a character too and the scenes where Johnson must battle "it" are the film's best
• Short and sweet, mostly entertaining, if not forgettable

Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10