Die Hard movies are pretty influential for the action genre, that it spawned numerous movies inspired by it. I loved all four Die Hard movies (nope, never gonna admit the fifth one exists), and I enjoyed Die Hard inspired movies like Olympus Has Fallen, White House Down, etc. So when I found out that Skyscraper is literally 2018's Die Hard, I quickly became interested with the movie. And in some ways it does satisfy my desire of a new Die Hard movie. But if only they add more action, more humor and have a more compelling villain, it would be a much better movie.
Pros:
Dwayne Johnson continues to prove that he's one of the most bankable, likable actor in Hollywood right now. His performance as Will Sawyer is great. He's likable, he's relatable, and he's a good character overall. Neve Campbell is great as Will's wife Sarah. I also liked how she's not your typical damsel-in-distress female character, in fact she kicks alot of a**! Chin Han is also great as Zhao. Lastly, Roland Møller did a good job as Kores.
The action, while it does look unrealistic and stupid at times, actually is great. All of the action scenes were shot and edited brilliantly. One of the action scene is a clear reference to/inspired by the Burj Khalifa scene in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and I love it. Another one might reference the final fight in John Wick 2, which in turn references the fight in Enter the Dragon. While not as mind-blowing, it's still a sight to behold.
Steve Jablonsky is always a win, nuff said. I mean sure you could hate the Transformers franchise, but one thing that they done right was the music by Steve Jablonsky, and this is yet another great music from him.
This movie is actually intense at times, which I appreciate. Sure, not as pulse-pounding like Die Hard, but much appreciated nonetheless.
Cons:
Plot-wise: yup, it's Die Hard 2018, just without Bruce Willis in it (kinda wish he made a cameo on this on). In terms of writing, however, it's clear that it has none of the clever writing compared to Die Hard. The villain is forgettable and one-dimensional, the story is exposition heavy, there's no clear backstory of the villains, and I think they blew all of their budget on the 1st act, that they made the ending very anticlimactic to me.
It's way too short! The movie has a runtime of around 1 and a half hours, which is disappointing. A movie like this should be 2+ hours long, allowing more character development, more action scenes and etc. It can be longer. It *should* be longer.
To be honest, and this is probably a nitpick, but honestly, if the movie is R rated, the movie would have been much better. More cuss words, more yippie-ki-yay moments, more blood, etc. Just add a bit of these, and the movie would probably be better.
Overall, you'll have a good time with this movie. While it does satisfy the crave for a new Die Hard movie, if the movie dared to go all in R rated, with longer runtime and more blood and cuss, I think It'll help the movie more. Grab your popcorns and soda drinks, sit tight, relax, and have fun with the movie.
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