'Skyscraper': A skyscraper burning, but no surprise – News – seacoastonline.com



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There are some surprises in "Skyscraper", an entertaining thriller so medium whose very name – genetically descriptive, generic – seems to announce its fungibility.

Take two cups of "The Towering Inferno", a half-pound of "Die Hard" (not necessarily a bad thing, watch out for you) and stir in every action movie Dwayne Johnson ever made, up to The consistency of cornmeal. Place it on the middle stand of a 3000-foot Hong Kong skyscraper that is on fire, thanks to a villain with an undetermined foreign accent, natch, and sprinkle generously with cliches. Cook until the chocolate is just cooked.

Voil: a film that will fill your deepest cravings of sweets for the eyes without feeding you. "Skyscraper" is a stupid summer fun.

What? Perhaps you were waiting for an Oscar nominee in July?

From the moment we meet the kind who turns out to be almost immediately bad, at the moment when armed bandits come forward saying, with a transparent lie, "That's good, we're the good ones, you're "Safe," "Skyscraper" is exactly what we all know it is, and no more: a stupid, forgettable but moderately watchable showcase for derring-do and special effects.

The chief among these effects is Johnson himself, whose charisma burns like a force of nature. Like Will Sawyer, a married father of two who loses a leg in the violent prologue that opens the film, and who must save his family from the world's tallest building after the arsonists set it on fire, Johnson prevents the movie from more predictable. (The aptly named Will, an FBI hostage rescue team chief who became a building security advisor, wears a false leg throughout the film, making his tenacity more impressive. The prosthesis torments him and , later, arrives unexpectedly at hand. "

Of course, when thugs enter the command center that controls the building's fire extinguishing systems, easily replacing the protections of the computer, the main hacker (Matt O 'Leary) announces: "I am." And of course, there will be a scene where Will, grinning, will pull out a piece of metal shredded that is embedded in his flesh during a particularly scary shot.The bonus points of the writer / director Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Central Intelligence"), to at least give this line funny Johnson , delivered as Will binds his injuries with unorthodox first aid supplies odoxes: "If you can not fix it with tape, then you do not use enough tape. "

OK, so" Yippee-ki-yay "that's not the case.In contrast to" Die Hard "," Skyscraper "is not destined to become a cult hit.

Strangely, the tape is coming in more than once, which leads us to wonder if 3M has paid for the product placement here. "Skyscraper" is the kind of movie where nothing is randomly introduced When, at the beginning of the movie, the owner of the skycraper (Byron Mann) shows some bizarre high-tech features of his building, you can bet that one of these high-tech features will play an important role later on. that's the case, even if it's in the context of a scene that is a clear scam of – excuse me, tribute to "The Lady from Shanghai" by Orson Welles.

Despite its shortcomings, "Skyscraper" avoids the worst offenses of some of Johnson's most absurd vehicles. (I'm looking at you, "San Andreas.") The central hit of the movie – represented on the poster and in the trailer – in which Will tries to jump from the arm of a wobbly tower crane inside the building on fire, is both stomach-churning and viscerally satisfying. It is so well staged that, despite its obvious absurdity, you may want to burst with joy, with the crowd of onlookers gathers in the street below the building, while you watch Will climb as a character describes the inflamed skyscraper, "a $ 6.5 billion fireplace."

"Skyscraper" is not devoid of wonder. The highlight contains a particularly satisfying twist, so small ,. But the biggest element of the unexpected? "Skyscraper" – the film, this is not the building – never goes up in smoke.

& # 39; Skyscraper & # 39;

Two out of four stars. PG-13 rated. At the theaters of the region. Contains sequences of armed violence, action and short, strong language. 103 minutes

End of the season for July 12

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