SKYSCRAPER


US, 2018, 102 minutes, Colour.
Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Pablo Schreiber, Chin Han, Noah Taylor, Mackenna Roberts, Kevin Rankin, Roland Moller, Byron Mann, Matt O' Leary.
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber.

Ultra-towering, ultra-Inferno. Back to the spirit of the 1970s and all those disaster movies.

A warning to those who like their films to be absolutely realistic, documentary-like in the detail, all the verisimilitude of truth! They may find Skyscraper rather far-fetched. On the other hand, those who enjoy thrillers, cliff-hanging and the equivalents, won’t be worrying too much about how accurate or truthful it is but will relish the entertainment.

The film doesn’t waste any time getting into the action with a prologue where a special squad has to break a siege with a man holding children hostage. One of the consequences of the action is that our central hero, Will Sawyer, played by the almost-always welcome Dwayne Johnson (with touches of grey in his beard now), losing a leg, tended in hospital by a military nurse who also served in Afghanistan, (Neve Campbell) – then, 10 years on, happily married and two children.

And then to his new job, recommended by his partner during the siege, Ben (Pablo Schreiber), the security in the world’s tallest skyscraper, in Hong Kong. Actually, architectural design seems to have come on since towering infernos 70s. The skyscraper doesn’t look like any building we have seen – yet; and that is only the outside! It is all luxury and IT control inside the building with the IT headquarters some kilometres away (all it very important for the complications of the plot, getting rid of some of the workers, sabotaging the control).

Needless to say, wife and children will be caught in the building when the thugs arrive and set fire. While there is a lot of the expected wife and children in peril, the wife has plenty of experience on her side, is tough in her own way and uses her brains. Of course, Dwayne Johnson has to use both brawn and brains – lucky he has so much brawn because the stunts are not only far-fetched, they seem to be almost impossible! And, not only that, he has to save everyone he can single-handed, sometimes having to take off his leg, and doing things single-legged as well. And he relies on his wits as well as a lot of duct tape.

Sinister villains, a complicated plot has to their motives, a businessman who is seeing his pride and joy skyscraper going up in smoke, some betrayals, and the Hong Kong police standing aghast, misinterpreting the situation, eventually on side. And, crowds and crowds, watching TV broadcasts as well as lots of phone cameras.

The whole thing keeps good pace and, if you are in the mood for this kind of disaster film, it certainly fills the bill.

And, inventively, the credits have the title vertically beside the building,
S
K
Y
S
C
R
A
P
E
R.


1. The 21st century disaster film? Memories of the 1970s? Towering Inferno?

2. The title, the visuals of the skyscraper, built in Hong Kong? The creative design? The height, the number of stories, the engineering, turbines and generation of power, computer control? The penthouse? Admiration for the building, its safety – the threat being sabotaged? The decision to rebuild?

3. The design of the film, the skyscraper absorbed into the Hong Kong cityscapes? Exteriors, ordinary Hong Kong, police precincts, Colour and in the city?

4. The action, the stunt work, the special effects? The excitement for the audience? The pace? The musical score and atmosphere?

5. The introduction to Will Sawyer? The siege, the hostage, the police, exploiting the wall, the confrontation with the father, holding the child, putting down the gun, the explosion? Will and his being injured, cared for by Sarah?

6. 10 years later, the marriage, the children, Will and his happiness? The invitation to Hong Kong, his studying of the security? Ben and his friendship, having been wounded, the wounds on the side of his face? The family in the building? Going out to sea that panders? Will and his going for the interview, the tour of the building, the explanations, the owner?

7. Ben, friendship, betraying Will, his motivations, no promotion in comparison with Will? In league with the criminals? The fight with Will, his death? The effect on will?

8. The executives? The bodyguard, the financial adviser and is being sinister, his betrayal? In the penthouse, the fire, discussions about escape, the thugs arriving, the owner going to the safe, getting the computer stick, the explanation his motivations, being blackmailed, but getting all the names and codes of the money transfers? The criminals wanting the stick – even to the burning down of the building?

9. The criminals, the leader, his motivations, link with criminal gangs, encountering the family, setting up the fire, starting it? The killings after blasting through the wall? Control of the IT? The link with the outside, the woman as criminal leader, the invasion of the IT centre, the killings? The expert, his getting control? Her shooting him?

10. The role of the police, suspicions, the confrontation with Will? Following him, thinking in part of the plan? Sarah and the boy, getting to the fire, their being under suspicion, the explanations? Sarah identifying with the jump would take place? The police overcoming their scepticism? The irony of the crowds watching, the phone cameras, the television coverage, the applause at each step?

11. Will, the fact that he had lost his leg, the artificial leg? The fight with Ben, with the police, taking the motorbike, scaling the wall, the television coverage, the daring of his climb, with the crane, with the hook, swinging in midair, his leap? The piling on of the suspense, the dangers?

12. Encountering Sarah and the children, their escape, through the fire, the girl separated and going to the waterfall? Sarah and the bully, the plank, Will holding, the dangers in falling, is gripping them, going down in the elevator, the calculations, going through the fire, stopping the elevator?

13. Will and his strength, the wounds, is using the duct tape? The encounter with the criminals? Taking the little girl? The owner and his getting into the penthouse and locking the door? Recovering the computer stick?

14. The criminal leader, defining Will, forcing him to find a way to open the door – and the renewed dangers, breaking windows, on ledges, the turbines, the return, opening the door, using his leg to hold the doors?

15. The discussions with the owner, the explanations? The plan? Will wanting his daughter, they’re coming out, the owner with the gun, the stick, going into the hall of mirrors, raising them (and the demonstration early in the film to prepare for this), the confusion, where each individual was? The confrontation with the criminal leader, his holding the girl, the irony that Will was behind him are not in front of him? The fall, saving the girl? And the support of the owner?

16. The end, the hero coming out of the building, the acclaim, being reunited with Sarah and the family?

17. Five-fetched – but that being the nature of the disaster film?