Film Review: Skyscraper

"The Pearl Is The Tallest, Most Advanced Building In The World..."

With Rampage up there with one of the most tedious examples of over-inflated, digitally enhanced works of blockbuster trash so far this year, following on from the similarly painful endurance test which was last year's Jumanji remake, it's fair to say my opinion of Dwayne Johnson's acting pedigree has somewhat deteriorated recently, but with the release of Skyscraper, the latest movie from Rawson Marshall Thurber who reunites with Johnson after their work together on Central Intelligence, Johnson returns to the bombastic, B-Movie-centric blockbuster hero many have come to love in a movie which revels in its' utmost absurdity and succeeds in being nothing more than one heck of a fun ride. Based on a screenplay written by Thurber, Skyscraper is the type of disaster movie unashamed to scream out its' influences as it swerves between a mix of Die Hard, The Towering Inferno and Panic Room, with Johnson's former FBI agent turned amputee security adviser, Will Sawyer, forced into a perilous situation as he attempts to save his family who have been trapped within the titular structure coined "The Pearl" and a terrorist plot helmed by Roland Møller's (Atomic Blonde) muscular if underwritten Kores Botha. 

With the movie taking no time out of its' harmless ninety minute runtime at all for meaningful characterisation, with even Sawyer's opening catastrophic life-changing injury flashed through without cliff-notes, Thurber's screenplay is much more interested in using Johnson's physicality to influence the story in a fashion which was gratingly absent from the actor's previous endeavours on screen, particularly in the likes of Rampage when Johnson's natural charisma was wasted in favour of over-inflated digital pixels and explosions. Whether it be a bruising and practical one-on-one fist fight, holding up crumbling bridges with just his hands or taking a leap of faith with the movie's most bananas moment as his character evades certain death when jumping from a crane into the heart of the fire ridden tower in order to save his family, Skyscraper is indeed ridiculous, but the type of movie which manages to phase through its' cheesiness and leave you with an almighty grin, even with the inclusion of corny plot exposition and character deceptions which are so obvious there really wasn't any need to attempt to hide them in the first place. Whilst offering nothing new whatsoever to the genre in which it sits, Skyscraper is a ninety minute guilty pleasure which reinforces the love for Johnson that was once lost, proving that when placed in the right scenario, The Rock is the man you need to save you from certain death.  

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Free Fire

"I Forgot Whose Side I'm On..!"

With the release of High Rise last year, director Ben Wheatley has seemingly finally shot into the limelight of the widespread cinematic spotlight after years of being at the helm of some truly superb movies such as Sightseers and Kill List without breaking away from the eyes of the critical minorities and into the mindset of the average cinema-going mortal. Alongside taking the time to tackle the first two episodes of Peter Capaldi's reign as the Twelfth Doctor, Wheatley's contribution to the medium of escapist entertainment is a modern-day necessity, with his successful partnership with wife and screenwriter Amy Jump resulting in Wheatley arguably being the most interesting and dependable British director at this moment in time. With his latest release, Free Fire, Wheatley takes full advantage of his rising reputation with a superbly managed cast, including District 9 star Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Brie Larson and constant Wheatley contributor, Michael Smiley, all of whom are squeezed within the confines of a narrative which nods at a wide range of movies from Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs to the jet-black violence of Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers, resulting in a laugh-out-loud and highly quotable piece of cinema from a director who clearly knows what it takes to have a good time at the cinema. 

Revolving wholly around a weapons deal gone south, Free Fire relies primarily on the black-hole comedic tropes fans of Ben Wheatley have come to learn of and love ever since his early days with Down Terrace and continuing throughout into Sightseers and last year's High Rise, with the blunt of the jokes seeped in B-Movie splatter alongside the embarrassing feeling of laughing at the levels of pain and suffering our on-screen criminals are put through throughout the course of a delightful 90 minute runtime. With a cast as vast as Free Fire's, the inevitably of feeling a utter lacking in terms of character development was indeed strictly adhered to, with Wheatley determined to throw in as many bullets and bruises as possible in order to keep the constant flow of enjoyment from ever dipping below the level the majority of the film sticks to from start to finish. Whilst this isn't strictly the case, with the movie's appeal starting to fade come just over the hour mark, Free Fire is one of the most enjoyable times I've had at the cinema so far this year, solidifying the notion that whether it's horror, socialite dramas or action, Ben Wheatley has the ability to do it all. On to the next one. 

Overall Score: 8/10