Skyscraper
Rent & Buy
Framed and on the run, a former FBI agent must save his family from a blazing fire in the world's tallest building.
What critics thought
Critics landed right down the middle on this Dwayne Johnson vehicle, with the debate centering almost entirely on whether Johnson's sheer screen presence is enough to prop up a story almost everyone acknowledged as a shameless Die Hard retread. Reviewers who went along for the ride credited the film as a breezy summer diversion; those who didn't found it too derivative to generate real tension, undone in particular by a forgettable villain.
“Skyscraper doesn't change the action-movie game the way Die Hard did, but it's a solidly entertaining summer diversion best enjoyed on the biggest theater — or even better, drive-in — screen you can find.”
Alonso Duralde·TheWrap
“This is escapism, pure and simple, and though the structure is rickety, by enlisting Johnson, Thurber ensures that his Skyscraper is built on solid Rock.”
Peter Debruge·Variety
“It's all passively watchable, but the main problem is that writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence) hasn't come up with a villain nearly as memorable as Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber. I know that comparison may seem unfair, but when you're ripping off Die Hard this shamelessly, it's kind of not.”
Chris Nashawaty·Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Action, Thriller, Adventure
Cast & Crew
Rawson Marshall ThurberDirector
Dwayne JohnsonWill Sawyer
Neve CampbellSarah Sawyer
Chin HanZhao Long Ji
Roland MøllerKores Botha
Noah TaylorMr. Pierce
Byron MannInspector Wu
Pablo SchreiberBen
McKenna RobertsGeorgia Sawyer
Noah CottrellHenry Sawyer
Hannah QuinlivanXia
Adrian HolmesAjani Okeke
Elfina LukSergeant Han
Steve JablonskyComposer
Robert ElswitCinematographyFrom the studio
Skyscraper
Framed and on the run, a former FBI agent must save his family from a blazing fire in the world's tallest building.
What critics thought
Critics landed right down the middle on this Dwayne Johnson vehicle, with the debate centering almost entirely on whether Johnson's sheer screen presence is enough to prop up a story almost everyone acknowledged as a shameless Die Hard retread. Reviewers who went along for the ride credited the film as a breezy summer diversion; those who didn't found it too derivative to generate real tension, undone in particular by a forgettable villain.
“Skyscraper doesn't change the action-movie game the way Die Hard did, but it's a solidly entertaining summer diversion best enjoyed on the biggest theater — or even better, drive-in — screen you can find.”
Alonso Duralde·TheWrap
“This is escapism, pure and simple, and though the structure is rickety, by enlisting Johnson, Thurber ensures that his Skyscraper is built on solid Rock.”
Peter Debruge·Variety
“It's all passively watchable, but the main problem is that writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence) hasn't come up with a villain nearly as memorable as Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber. I know that comparison may seem unfair, but when you're ripping off Die Hard this shamelessly, it's kind of not.”
Chris Nashawaty·Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Action, Thriller, Adventure
Cast & Crew
Rawson Marshall ThurberDirectorDwayne JohnsonWill SawyerNeve CampbellSarah SawyerChin HanZhao Long JiRoland MøllerKores BothaNoah TaylorMr. PierceByron MannInspector WuPablo SchreiberBenMcKenna RobertsGeorgia SawyerNoah CottrellHenry SawyerHannah QuinlivanXiaAdrian HolmesAjani OkekeElfina LukSergeant HanSteve JablonskyComposerRobert ElswitCinematographyFrom the studio
Rent & Buy