4K UHD / Blu-ray Review “Skyscraper”

Actors: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Moller, Noah Taylor
Directors: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rated: PG-13
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Run Time: 103 minutes

Film: 2.5 out of 5 stars
4K UHD: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Usually when I see anything with the Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson it immediately has my attention. But I have to admit, “Skyscraper” was never one of them. I just knew from the moment I saw the trailer that I wasn’t going to like this movie. It just seemed so generic and forgettable…and I was right. It’s basic, predictable and suffers due to that. People who are looking for a Johnson puts up 110% and it shows but this movie is just a CGI filled lame action film that I will not remember in a few months.

Official Premise: Fueled with adrenaline and high impact verticality,Skyscraperis led by superstar Dwayne Johnson who plays former FBIHostage Team leader, U.S. war veteranand amputeeWill Sawyer. While on assignment in Hong Kongas an assessor for security in skyscrapers, he comes to find the tallest and safest building in the world suddenly ablaze, and he has been framed for it. Wanted and on the run, Will must find those responsible, clear his nameand save his family who is trapped inside the building… above the fire line.

Outside of our megastar Dwayne Johnson, the film does have a solid supporting cast including Neve Campbell (“House of Cards”, “Scream” franchise), Chin Han (“The Dark Knight”), Roland Møller (“Land of Mine”), Pablo Schreiber (“American Gods”, “Orange is the New Black”) and Hannah Quinlivan (“Moon River”). The film will be available on 4K Ultra-HD combo pack which includess a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray + standard Blu-ray + Digital copy. I felt like the CGI showed through way too much in this film and it really had that sound stage feel…but the 4K transfer didn’t suffer. It is pretty solid for damn sure and it’s detailed beyond belief. I did a pause test and was blown away. They also didn’t cheap out on the soundtrack giving this film a rocking Dolby Atmos track as well as an Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. Meh movie. Great A/V.

The special features here aren’t anything too special at all but I got to give the director credit for being very hands on. There is a solid Feature Commentary track by Director Rawson Marshall Thurber as well as some deleted and extended scenes also with commentary. There is a quick behind the scenes featurette called “Dwayne Johnson: Embodying a Hero–Go” and it shows some character development for the lead star. “Inspiration” introduces us to the real life amputee and motivational speaker Jeff Glasbrenner, the inspiration for Dwayne Johnson’s role of Will Sawyer. There are a few other featurettes including focus on the women characters in “Opposing Forces” and the stunts in “Kids in Action”. Decent but not amazing.

Enter to Win Blu-ray Combo Pack of “Skyscraper”

AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 ON 4K ULTRA HD, 3D BLU-RAY,BLU-RAY AND DVD OCTOBER 9, 2018 FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

To celebrate the Blu-ray release of “Skyscraper“, Media Mikes would like to give two of our fans a chance to win a Blu-ray + DVD combo pack of the film. If you want to win this great prize, please leave a comment below your favorite Dwayne Johnson film. This giveaway will remain open until October 5th at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to our readers in US only. One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.

Fueled with adrenaline and high impact verticality, Skyscraper is led by superstar Dwayne Johnson who plays former FBI Hostage Team leader, U.S. war veteran and amputee, Will Sawyer. While on assignment in Hong Kong as an assessor for security in skyscrapers, he comes to find the tallest and safest building in the world suddenly ablaze, and he has been framed for it. Wanted and on the run, Will must find those responsible, clear his name and save his family who is trapped inside the building… above the fire line.

Film Review: “Skyscraper”

 

SKYSCRAPER

Starring:  Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell and Roland Moller

Directed by:  Rawson Marshall Thurber

Rated:  PG 13

Running time:  1 hour 42 mins

Universal

 

I can hear the studio pitch now.  “What if we combined “The Towering Inferno” with “Die Hard” and have the Rock play Bruce Willis, Paul Newman AND Steve McQueen rolled into one character?”  My answer?  “Hell yeah!”

 

When we first meet FBI Hostage Rescue Team Leader Will Sawyer (Johnson), he is leading his group in trying to arrange the surrender of a man who is also holding his young son.  Thinking he has resolved the situation, Will and his team are badly injured when the man, feigning surrender, detonates a bomb.  Waking up in the hospital, he is comforted by the reassuring face and words of trauma nurse Sarah (Campbell).

 

Jump ahead several years.  Will and Sarah are now married, with two young children.  They are in Hong Kong where Will, now a safety and security assessor, has been summoned to go over the world’s tallest building.  Without his O.K., the buildings lavish owner cannot get the 200-plus story building insured.  Things go well until Will is attacked by a mysterious person trying to get a computer tablet he possesses that gives him access to ALL of the building’s security protocols.  It seems someone doesn’t want the building to open.  EVER!

 

Full of some amazing set-pieces and some serious “jump in your seat” moments, “Skyscraper” is a film that rides capably on the back of Dwayne Johnson.  Will possesses both Willis’ John McClain’s personality while also embodying the caring about of the situation that Newman’s architect and McQueen’s fire chief did in “The Towering Inferno.”  But while the latter film’s destruction was due to an accident, “Skyscraper” deals with a nasty man by the name of Kores Botha (Moller).  He’s not as smooth as Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber, but he is as vicious.

 

The cast does a fine job in dealing with the situations around them, and I’m giving Johnson extra credit because, due to opening bomb explosion, Will is missing a leg, having to move about the building (and do some extraordinary stunt work) on a prosthetic leg.  And yes, while I realize it’s all CGI, Johnson moves and reacts as if he really is standing precariously on a piece of molded metal.  The story moves smoothly and represents a graduation to a new genre’ for writer/director Thurber, best known for creating the “Terry Tate, Linebacker” series of commercials as well as the film “Dodgeball:  A True Underdog Story.”  The film moves on and the action flows.  A definite hit for the hot days of July.