Review: ‘Skyscraper’ great action meets awful dialogue

Skyscraper-Movie-Review

Neve Campbell and Dwayne Johnson do their absolute best they can delivering the most god awful dialog I have ever sat through that wasn’t in a porno.

(EDITORS NOTE: This is a repost from the blog Just Joia Shootin the Sh*t)I saw the trailer for Skyscraper a few times and thought, “yeah, I’d watch that” and then I found myself with early screening tickets in my hands. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Will Sawyer, a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran, who now assesses properties for insurance and is tasked in assessing the safety and insurability of the mega high-rise known as “The Pearl” in China. He is there with his wife Sarah Sawyer played by Neve Campbell and their twin children played by McKenna Roberts and Noah Cottrell.

The building is set ablaze and Will Sawyer is framed for the arson. He is then tasked in clearing his name, figuring out who perpetrated the arson (and why), as well as somehow reach his family and rescue them above the floors on fire. Everything is already outlined in the movie trailers as well as the “money shot” of him jumping from a construction crane into the building, thousands of feet above the earth, all with one prosthetic limb while thousands of Chinese watch from below.

The whole film is summed up in the trailer below:

Remember Die Hard? Yep, totally similar and that is no mistake, Skyscraper producer The Rock himself said, “In a summer full of cool & bad ass Superheroes & capes, my town of Hollywood doesn’t make movies like this anymore. But I wanted to make a film that paid homage and respect to the classic action movies that inspired me and entire generations – DIE HARD to TOWERING INFERNO to THE FUGITIVE. A wounded warrior’s blood, sweat, love & grit to save his family. Most physically and emotionally demanding role of my career — loved every second and grateful to my writer/director Rawson Thurber for bringing this role my way.”

ALSO READ: Review: ‘Tag’ is it for your raunchy summer comedy

Respect? yeah… Skyscraper does make your heart race and the special effects are absolutely incredible. This film is basically an updated version of Die Hard starring The Rock as he emulates the most insane version of American Ninja Warrior thousands of feet in the air on a building on fire. It was one of the most exciting and action packed films I have ever seen.

That being said, the dialogue was atrocious. Neve Campbell and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson do their absolute best they can delivering the most god awful dialogue I have ever sat through that wasn’t in a porno. The dialogue reminded me of the script some bot wrote after being forced to watch 1000 hours Olive Garden commercials.

The dialogue was so bad I questioned whether Tommy Wiseau wrote it or if writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber asked Tommy Wiseau for help writing the dialogue. Perhaps the dialog was so poorly written to make it easier to dub into Chinese for the film’s release in China. Let’s face it though, much like porn, no one is going to see this film for the riveting dialogue, they’re there for the action and special effects, and to see The Rock defy gravity and physics by jumping from a crane into a burning building on the big screen.

Skyscraper delivers as a summer action film you can take your kids to. The violence isn’t as violent as you would imagine. The cursing is mild and there is no sexual scenes or situations. The lousy dialogue is only there to explain how deeply Will Sawyer loves his wife and kids and over-explain why he and his family are in China, living in this futuristic high-rise building. This film is just bubblegum for the brain, meant to entertain on the most basic level.

Skyscraper opens July 13.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joia_Davida_Shootin_the_shit
Guest Critic Joia DaVida

Joia DaVida is a Jersey girl at heart, but after living in Southern Florida for over 20 years, packed up her two brilliant and beautiful daughters and road tripped across America to relocate in LA, California. Now she’s living life to it’s fullest, enjoying everything Los Angeles has to offer – including CBM and genre films. Follow her blog here.

Skyscraper-Movie-Review

Neve Campbell and Dwayne Johnson do their absolute best they can delivering the most god awful dialog I have ever sat through that wasn’t in a porno.

(EDITORS NOTE: This is a repost from the blog Just Joia Shootin the Sh*t)I saw the trailer for Skyscraper a few times and thought, “yeah, I’d watch that” and then I found myself with early screening tickets in my hands. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Will Sawyer, a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran, who now assesses properties for insurance and is tasked in assessing the safety and insurability of the mega high-rise known as “The Pearl” in China. He is there with his wife Sarah Sawyer played by Neve Campbell and their twin children played by McKenna Roberts and Noah Cottrell.

The building is set ablaze and Will Sawyer is framed for the arson. He is then tasked in clearing his name, figuring out who perpetrated the arson (and why), as well as somehow reach his family and rescue them above the floors on fire. Everything is already outlined in the movie trailers as well as the “money shot” of him jumping from a construction crane into the building, thousands of feet above the earth, all with one prosthetic limb while thousands of Chinese watch from below.

The whole film is summed up in the trailer below:

Remember Die Hard? Yep, totally similar and that is no mistake, Skyscraper producer The Rock himself said, “In a summer full of cool & bad ass Superheroes & capes, my town of Hollywood doesn’t make movies like this anymore. But I wanted to make a film that paid homage and respect to the classic action movies that inspired me and entire generations – DIE HARD to TOWERING INFERNO to THE FUGITIVE. A wounded warrior’s blood, sweat, love & grit to save his family. Most physically and emotionally demanding role of my career — loved every second and grateful to my writer/director Rawson Thurber for bringing this role my way.”

ALSO READ: Review: ‘Tag’ is it for your raunchy summer comedy

Respect? yeah… Skyscraper does make your heart race and the special effects are absolutely incredible. This film is basically an updated version of Die Hard starring The Rock as he emulates the most insane version of American Ninja Warrior thousands of feet in the air on a building on fire. It was one of the most exciting and action packed films I have ever seen.

That being said, the dialogue was atrocious. Neve Campbell and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson do their absolute best they can delivering the most god awful dialogue I have ever sat through that wasn’t in a porno. The dialogue reminded me of the script some bot wrote after being forced to watch 1000 hours Olive Garden commercials.

The dialogue was so bad I questioned whether Tommy Wiseau wrote it or if writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber asked Tommy Wiseau for help writing the dialogue. Perhaps the dialog was so poorly written to make it easier to dub into Chinese for the film’s release in China. Let’s face it though, much like porn, no one is going to see this film for the riveting dialogue, they’re there for the action and special effects, and to see The Rock defy gravity and physics by jumping from a crane into a burning building on the big screen.

Skyscraper delivers as a summer action film you can take your kids to. The violence isn’t as violent as you would imagine. The cursing is mild and there is no sexual scenes or situations. The lousy dialogue is only there to explain how deeply Will Sawyer loves his wife and kids and over-explain why he and his family are in China, living in this futuristic high-rise building. This film is just bubblegum for the brain, meant to entertain on the most basic level.

Skyscraper opens July 13.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joia_Davida_Shootin_the_shit
Guest Critic Joia DaVida

Joia DaVida is a Jersey girl at heart, but after living in Southern Florida for over 20 years, packed up her two brilliant and beautiful daughters and road tripped across America to relocate in LA, California. Now she’s living life to it’s fullest, enjoying everything Los Angeles has to offer – including CBM and genre films. Follow her blog here.