Skyscraper proves that Dwayne Johnson can work his magic for the Chinese audience

SKYSCRAPER REVIEWED

Skyscraper is many things, but not one of them is good. Dwayne Johnson continues to carve out that Post Bruce Willis niche as the everyman action hero. But, he does it like a toddler throwing pasta at a wall. In the course of 12 months, he’s gone from family friendly to giant monster movie and now low-key Chinese propaganda. It also serves as part of the recent interested in Towering Infernos. While the original film remains supreme, the world cinema seems hellbent on finding new ways to dumb it down.

Did I mention that Johnson is also playing an amputee? It’s a minor plot point, as the physical rules of the handicap are thrown out the window when Johnson needs to save his family. He leaps from construction cranes and crawls through wreckage like a man not wearing a prosthetic. Neve Campbell gets thankless work as the maternal child wrangler. But, I like the idea that Dwayne Johnson decided to crash that Party of Five and wife it.

Maybe he was a Bodeans fan? Still, it’s a dumb action movie set in Hong Kong because Hollywood is selling everything not nailed down to appease the boys in Beijing. Much like with The Great Wall, it doesn’t matter who you made a bad movie to entertain. In the end, it’s still a bad movie. If you want to see something truly awful, there’s this WWII movie that Bruce Willis just starred in for the Chinese market. Hopefully, some lower-tier studio gives it a release in America.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Director Rawson Marshall Thurber – Go behind the scenes with Dwayne Johnson and the rest of the cast of Skyscraper.
Extended Scenes with Commentary by Director Rawson Marshall Thurber
Dwayne Johnson: Embodying a Hero – Go behind the scenes to see what it took for Dwayne Johnson to bring the intense character of Will Sawyer to life.
Inspiration – Meet real life amputee and motivational speaker Jeff Glasbrenner, the inspiration for Dwayne Johnson’s role of Will Sawyer. See how Jeff’s consultations helped inform Dwayne’s character from day one.
Opposing Forces – There’s no holding back as the women of Skyscraper get in on the action. Now, see first-hand what it took for Neve Campbell and Hannah Quinlivan to be fight ready.
Friends No More – When Dwayne Johnson and Pablo Schreiber met face to face, they immediately knew what they were up against. Witness first-hand the making of the intense apartment fight between two former on-screen friends, Will and Ben.
Kids in Action – In Skyscraper everyone gets in on the action, even the Sawyer children. Go on set with Noah Cottrell and McKenna Roberts to discover the moves behind their stunts.
Pineapple Pitch – Hear first-hand from Dwayne Johnson how writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber pitched him the idea of Skyscraper. It may be a little fruitier than you think.
Feature Commentary by Director Rawson Marshall Thurber