SKYSCRAPER

Dwayne Johnson     Neve Campbell     Chin Han     Pablo Schreiber     Roland Moller     Noah Taylor

     Stay away if you have vertigo; The Pearl Hotel is 3,000 feet high.  A large pearl (curiously resembling a baseball) rests delicately at the very top. When the architect/owner Zhao Long Ji (Han) takes his new building security expert (Johnson) on a tour, they pass through architecturally stunning halls, some with optical illusions, such as a room with dozens of reflecting mirrors, and end up on what appears to be the top of the city of Hong Kong—a “bit of heaven”, the owner comments.  They are walking on what appears to be a glass pane that covers the entire city.  It’s digital within a digital movie.

     The story is set up cleverly with scenes from 10 years earlier in Minnesota when Will Sawyer (Johnson) is with the FBI, which gives us the antecedents to the events that are about to occur.  Now, Will is excited and a bit nervous about interviewing for the job at the hotel.  After leaving the FBI, he has done well as a security analyst, and Zhao has asked him to inspect and review the systems he has had installed.

     Unbeknownst to either of them, but soon to appear, are dangerous, ruthless saboteurs who will do their best to wreak havoc on the building, the people inside, and especially Zhao.  Eventually, of course, Sawyer will be drawn in and will entertain you with his harrowing feats and brushes with death by falling or burning or gunfire, all to try to rescue his wife and two children trapped in the burning hotel. It’s Dwayne in all his considerable glory.

     To its credit, the film portrays the family as not only brave and heroic, but clever and wily in standing up to the bad guys.  Neve Campbell as Sarah, the mother, is given the opportunity to use her intelligence as a surgeon and as a shrewd woman to solve puzzles, even electronic ones.  The two children might be quaking, but they too are given actions that reflect bravery and quick thinking.  All this is in the midst of encountering an evil man (or woman) at every turn.  A cameo role for Hannah Quinlivan as Xia shows her talents for reflecting a cold, cunning Asian woman, robotic-like in fulfilling her assigned duties.  

     Skyscraper delivers on its promise of thrills and chills, impressive special effects, and Dwayne Johnson’s stunt capabilities. His long-time stunt man double is his cousin Tanoi Reed, but Johnson is proud to say that he performed one amazing leap on his own in Skyscraper.  (You’ll recognize it when you see it.)  But the movie is unremarkable in forging anything new in the genre, and it’s very clear how everything is going to turn out in the end.  

     Rawson Marshall Thurber, the writer and director, manages well a formulaic rendition of thrillers that are like a dime-a-dozen nowadays, complete with sequels in the offing.  (The dime-a-dozen is clearly an ironic metaphor for films that cost millions of dollars.)  We still have the ominous threat of Zhao Long Ji’s archenemy still lurking in the background. 

<”pant!  pant!”>  I can hardly wait.  

     I think the movie achieves what it set out to do.

Dizzying heights are reached in this thrilling tale, although well-grounded viewers may not be transported.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI

John Krasinski   Max Martini   Pablo Schreiber   Dominic Fumusa   David Constabile   James Badge Dale

          13 Hours is based on the accounts of five members of a special operations force [Global Response Staff (GSR)] that was contracted by the CIA to provide back-up security in Benghazi, Libya, written up in a book by Mitchell Zuckoff.  The team is sent to a “temporary diplomatic outpost” which they find woefully inadequate in security measures and they question the competence of the local guards.  According to the book and the film, the chief officer (played by David Constabile) is dismissive of them, questions their judgment, and is critically slow in making emergency decisions.  This is alarming when we learn of the experience and judgment previously shown by the individuals in the GSR.  The film is not meant to be a political statement or exploration of cultural elements of the September 11, 2012, attack; it’s a reflection of what the team experienced in the operation, their doubts, their pain, and love for one another; and, finally, reveals a certain amount of resentment that the country did not fully acknowledge their heroism.

          For the average viewer, the film is difficult to watch, in that it’s like reading a warrior’s diary that only talks about battles, the tediousness of waiting for the next round—whatever that may be—and the frustration of bureaucracy and an incompetent leader.  Yes, we see a number of sieges taking place, the infrared views of terrorists sneaking up to the compound, and endless exchanges of barrages of bullets and mortars, but through the lens of a jumpy camera in the dark, which reveals little about who the figures are. 

        I find that the biggest fault of this film is that it offers little about the political/social context in which the action takes place.  It seems like the GSR team is so much more capable than the CIA and the U.S. government powers that be—and that may very well be true.  However, the film does not provide the viewer with any validation of the premise and does not go into any of the complexities involved in personal, cultural, or international terms. 

Direction by Michael Bay, cinematography of Dion Beebe, and the portrayals by actors John Krasinski, Max Martini, and David Constabile are OK, especially the brother-to-brother talks about what everything meant in the end; I just wanted more.  I am glad to have heard the account of this trying time, however.  Maybe I’m expecting too much.  Wouldn’t it have been great if the film could have explained more than what the government-appointed review board and Senate/House Committees uncovered?

Battle scenes galore without much elucidation.

Grade:  C                         By Donna R. Copeland