Review: Skyscraper Presents a More Serious Side of Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson a.k.a The Rock is always known for his action movies whether it’s Fast & Furious franchise, The Scorpion King, or many others. “Skyscraper” is the latest action flick that must be added to his portfolio. The film tells the story of a former FBI agent named Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson), who had retired early from his career after an accident occurred. In the movie, we got to see a glimpse of flash-back when Will started his career as an FBI agent. He was tasked with a mission to secure a family who was held hostage in a tall building. While he was trying to save the family, he failed the mission and lost his teammates, the family as well as his leg. Being a handicap, he was retired from the investigation bureau and worked as a private contractor to consult the security. He met his wife while he was in a hospital back then, and got married with two children together. Albeit having had a normal life, he was still haunted by his failed mission and tried to find a way to pay back his mistake. Then he met Ben (Pablo Schreiber), his former teammate who was still alive.
Ben recommended him to a client named Zhao Ming Zhi (Chin Han), a proprietor of tall buildings in the city who wanted to secure his possession there. Will prepared for a long time before consulting him and thanked Ben for the opportunity he got. It turned out to be a set up from Ben who wanted to steal important information from The Pearl (Zhao’s building). The only way to get the info was to burn all the building to the ground. Could Will save the building from collapsing and prove his expertise to a high stake client? This movie is basically showing a good guy’s perspective when he is in a very deep trouble. The plot afterward is a predictable kind of story with lots of jumping, hanging, and near death scenes. While the amputated leg of Dwayne Johnson looks real, other parts of this movie are mostly CGI-ed. This resulted in a sometimes uncomfortable too bright and too fake of a scene. Otherwise, this movie shows a more serious side to The Rock other than his comical persona. Watch “Skyscraper” in theaters near you and it’s even better on IMAX!
Reviewer: Audy Prasetya/Editor: Novita Widia
