Skyscraper
Skyscraper – Risk assessor, Will Sawyer, is tasked with completing the final safety checks on the world’s tallest skyscraper, ‘The Pearl’, before it can be fully opened. When a group of terrorists attack by starting a fire on the 96th floor, Will’s family are trapped inside. Knowing that he is their only hope, he scales the building but once inside, the fire isn’t the only thing that Will needs to worry about.
Skyscraper (2018) – Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rating: 12A
Running Length: 102 mins
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Roland Møller
Genre: Action
REVIEW: ‘SKYSCRAPER’
Disaster movies have had a resurgence in recent year but with most fitting into the ‘natural disaster’ category, movies like ‘Skyscraper’ make a welcome change. Unfortunately very little can be added to a movie about a skyscraper being on fire that hasn’t been done before and ‘Skyscraper’ doesn’t really try to break the mould here. Instead it focuses on making a familiar tale exciting and fun which is exactly what we want from such a film.
What has been done well and differently is the characterisation; protagonist Will (Johnson) is disabled, his leg having been amputated years before. Throughout the movie, this is an issue which doesn’t define him but it is mentioned enough to show the problems he faces not just in extreme circumstances but everyday as well. Will’s wife, Sarah (Campbell), is no simpering damsel in distress, managing to stay calm, protect her children and seek safety without coming across as overly tough. It is a shame that more isn’t done with antagonist, Botha (Møller); he is of course evil incarnate but disappointingly his character doesn’t extend much further.
‘Skyscraper’ may be treading familiar ground and throwing about the clichés of the genre like hot cakes but it is undoubtedly enjoyable and with so many intense scenes of Dwayne Johnson hanging off the side of the titular Skyscraper, this is a movie that delivers everything it promises.
CONTENT: IS ‘SKYSCRAPER’ SUITABLE FOR KIDS
The movie opens in the midst of a hostage situation as a man terrorises his wife and two children. The term ‘domestic violence’ is heard over a police radio and the victims are seen huddled together, clearly terrified, however the man’s crimes/threats are ambiguous. When the response team force their way inside the house, the man protects himself by holding his young son against his body. There is then an explosion which is very likely to cause several deaths as well as serious injury. The face of one of the injured is shown on close-up which is covered in small, bloody cuts.
An engineer of the eponymous skyscraper sees a hole suddenly appear in a nearby wall. He approaches it and looks inside, after around 30 seconds, a hand suddenly appears and wraps around the man’s neck. He struggles, gags and chokes for several seconds before a cracking sound is heard and his body is dropped to the floor.
A character is captured by very dangerous criminals and a gun is held to his face. It is clear that they have every intention of killing him immediately, however after a couple of seconds pass, they are distracted and the man is able to escape.
A character gets a piece of metal embedded into their chest, a small amount of blood is seen around the wound. The character pulls the metal out on camera, groaning in pain. The lighting of this scene ensures that the character is mostly in silhouette so it is not gory.
As might be expected, there are numerous shots of character’s being high up the skyscraper and the camera shows the extreme height for several seconds each time.
There are a few fight scenes where heavy blows are exchanged and knives are used.
CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘SKYSCRAPER’ FOR KIDS?
‘Skyscraper’ may not be ground breaking but who doesn’t love seeing Dwayne Johnson in an action movie? Due to some scary scenes, we feel this movie is appropriate for kids aged 8 and over.
- Violence: 3/5
- Emotional Distress: 0/5
- Fear Factor: 3/5 (Will’s situation becomes increasingly intense, especially when he is on the outside of the building)
- Sexual Content: 0/5
- Bad Language: 3/5 (some moderate cursing and mild blasphemy. A strong word is used when a character is being threatened)
- Dialogue: 0/5
- Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, bravery, not relying on authorities, doing what is right rather than what is easy, disability, rising above adversity and the dangers of power being put into the wrong hands.
Words by Laura Record
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