‘Skyscraper’ offers high-rise thrills, The Rock’s shoulders

The action-movie superstar deftly carries this fun summer blockbuster.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson hangs on by his fingertips in “Skyscraper.” (Universal Pictures)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson hangs on by his fingertips in “Skyscraper.” (Universal Pictures)

Dwayne Johnson is near the top of a 240-floor Hong Kong skyscraper (currently on fire), and he’s rushing to find a super-secret control panel that will let him enter an impenetrable room that might save his life. Oh, his daughter’s being held captive, too.

Searching for a solution, he realizes the control panel is hidden behind giant turbine blades, which can only be accessed by rappelling down the side of the building and then jumping between the moving rotor blades. As this information dawns on him, he pauses for a moment. “Behind the turbines,” he mutters. “Oh come on, man.”

By the way: He only has one leg. He was injured in a raid during his time as an FBI agent.

Johnson knows this situation is ridiculous. We know it’s ridiculous. He knows we know it’s ridiculous.

Then he goes ahead and does it.

This sequence is typical of why “Skyscraper” is so much fun. The movie has such a cheerful sense of its own absurdity, while not for a moment undercutting its legitimate thrills, that it succeeds almost completely at the summer-blockbuster game.

And it’s all on the mighty shoulders of Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, aka the most popular actor in international cinema. With his instant audience rapport and sleeve-bursting physicality, Johnson carries the film with the ease of a born movie star.

How’d he get up there? The billionaire owner (nifty turn by Chin Han) of the building has hired security-expert Johnson to inspect the joint before its opening. Which is why the tower is uninhabited … except for Johnson’s wife (Neve Campbell) and two kids.

Bad guys arrive, with a sinister motive. I couldn’t really explain what it is, but this kind of thing never matters anyway. Suffice it to say they want to burn the place for reasons of their own.

So Johnson is caught between a towering inferno and dying hard, as he scrambles to liberate the family. This involves a satisfying nonstop series of death-defying leaps and hand-to-hand fights.

It being 2018, Campbell’s character, a medical doctor, gets to do her share of cliff-hanging and butt-kicking. All very cleverly executed, too.

Without question, writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber (who did “Central Intelligence” with Johnson) borrows liberally from previous action movies. I enjoyed the revival of Patrick Swayze’s self-surgery scene from “Road House,” for example. I mean some things are evergreen, people.

But give Thurber all credit for moving “Skyscraper” along at breakneck pace, and for showcasing the particular skills of his star. Summer moviemaking so often sinks under the weight of its hardware and expectations. This one rises high.

“Skyscraper” (3 stars)

Fire breaks out at a 240-floor Hong Kong building; can Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson save his family inside? Stupid question, but the series of death-defying jumps and cliffhangers that ensue are enough fun to qualify this as an almost completely successful summer blockbuster — carried on the shoulders of the world’s biggest movie star. With Neve Campbell.

Rating: PG-13, for violence

Opening: Alderwood, Alderwood Mall, Cinebarre Mountlake Terrace, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood Cinemas, Meridian, Oak Tree, Pacific Place, Seattle 10, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor Plaza

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.