When Universal Pictures won a bidding war to produce a screenplay as a spiritual successor to films set in a building like Die Hard, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson officially signed on to star and produce the film titled “Skyscraper.” It is currently out in theaters around the same time as Hotel Transylvania 3. Dwayne Johnson’s new movie earned mixed reviews from critics, and it is trying to earn money at the box office.
NOTE FROM 2022: Univeral failed to earn a profit at the box office.
Today’s review contains very important SPOILERS. If you haven’t got a chance to see this movie, read at your own risk. I got an idea for fun, how about a drinking game every time I mention Die Hard on my review, take a shot whether you’re drinking alcohol or root beer, it’s your call. Nostalgia Critic did it for his review of the Tim Curry version of It, how about pointing out elements from Die Hard that are stolen from Skyscraper? By the way, watch Die Hard before you read this review, because I will give away important plot points.
Is Skyscraper a spiritual successor to an iconic film from 1988, or is it an expensive mockbuster like Transmorphers, a rip-off of Michael Bay’s Transformers? Time to find out.
Positive & Negative Elements
Positive: Dwayne Johnson did a good job for his performance. He also co-produces the film.
Neve Campbell & Chin Han both did a solid job for their performances.
Action Sequences were solid, some of them were the only good parts.
Visual Effects were decent, they didn’t seem fake to me.
Cinematography didn’t suffer from any technical difficulties whatsoever.
The height and scope for the building is influenced by a painting of “The Tower of Babel.”
The Opening Scene establishes how Will lost his leg.
Negative: This movie is obviously a carbon copy of Die Hard and The Towering Inferno. This isn’t a throwback or parody, this is stealing. Rick & Morty’s episode titled, “Pickle Rick” paid homage to “one man army” pictures.
How did Will manage to climb to the top of a massive crane without losing his grip? Has anybody ever played Shadow of the Colossus or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? There’s a stamina meter for the lead character that’ll tell you how much time you got left before you lose your grip.
If you remember that scene from the previews with Will attempting to jump towards the building, how is it even possible for him to jump from a long distance? He’s not Spider-Man leaping over a building. Memes from The Internet are making fun of The Rock leaping his way in a logical perspective.
Before Will uses a surprise attack in a holographic mirror room, you can barely see him.
A scene with Will trying to remove glass from his chest is another shove it in your face reference to Die Hard when John McClane is painfully removing glass from his feet.
One of the trailers accidentally gave away Will’s wife & son entering an elevator and you know that they will be safe. If a trailer unintentionally gives away a certain plot point, I will automatically subtract a point. Marketing 101, you have to keep pivotal moments to the story under wraps!
The Bad Guy was easily forgettable, he wasn’t as memorable as Alan Rickman’s character Hans Gruber, The Main Antagonist from Die Hard.
The Bad Guy uses a loved one of Will, is yet another stolen reference from Die Hard in which Hans uses John’s wife as a shield.
A Plot Hole with Will & his daughter who are trapped from the top floor as they surrounded by flames, why they didn’t use a parachute to escape? Batman is a professional escape artist than The Tooth Fairy? Get it, because The Rock once played a tooth fairy in a god-awful Disney film!
Will reuniting with his family is basically stealing Die Hard’s ending.
The Police who think Will is a bad guy is suspiciously similar to John McClane being mistaken for a terrorist.
The boss behind the building stated that he’s gonna rebuild it. That folks is a painful example of sequel bait. Who’s the self-promoted moron responsible for the screenplay?
The Final Verdict: D, FOR DWAYNE JOHNSON’S POOP!
Skyscraper is trying to be like Die Hard and The Towering Inferno all in one as a failed attempt to let movie goers into thinking this’ll be a spiritual successor on the same page as Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire inspired by Stargate, but The Rock’s film is a story that has already been told a few times without adding a new flavor lacking originality. As a critic, I hear by declare Skyscraper as a generic brand like Dr. Thunder which is a cheap rip-off of Dr. Pepper.
Now I understand why it was released on Friday the 13th. What could be worse, going to see an expensive mockbuster, or going to a summer camp when a bloodthirsty man in a hockey mask stalking his prey? I would definitely say both in terms of wasting your precious spare time and money if you don’t want your kid to watch a knock-off or fleeing away from Jason Voorhees.
If you wanna watch a better action film set in a building, go watch Die Hard, The Towering Inferno or Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd. Not the one with Sylvester Stallone. Don’t worry guys and gals, a spin-off for The Fast and The Furious franchise starring Dwayne Johnson & Jason Statham is in development. Who knows if it’s gonna be good as Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7 & Fate of The Furious.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 