Skyscraper (2018 film)
Skyscraper is a 2018 American action thriller film starring Dwayne Johnson as a former FBI agent who must rescue his family from a newly built Hong Kong skyscraper, the tallest in the world, after terrorists set the building on fire in an attempt to extort the property developer. Written, produced, and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, it co-stars Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Møller, Noah Taylor, Byron Mann, Pablo Schreiber, and Hannah Quinlivan in supporting roles.
The film is the second collaboration between Thurber and Johnson, following Central Intelligence. Development started in May 2016 when Legendary Entertainment won the bidding war for a Chinese-set action adventure film. Johnson was cast to play the lead, while Thurber was attached as the film's scriptwriter, director and producer, with Flynn producing the film through his Flynn Picture Company, alongside Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions and Universal Pictures handling distribution rights. Filming began in August 2017 in Vancouver, with location shooting in Hong Kong.
Skyscraper premiered in Beijing on July 2, 2018, and was released in the United States on July 13, 2018. It grossed $304 million worldwide against a budget of $125 million. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Johnson's performance and the film's suspenseful scenes, but criticized the story and deemed it too similar to other films, including The Towering Inferno and Die Hard.
Plot
Will Sawyer, a Marine veteran turned Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team leader, loses his left leg below the knee when he and HRT colleague Ben Gillespie encounter a hostage taker with a suicide bomb. Ten years later, Will, now a private security consultant, is recommended by Ben to review security for "The Pearl", a skyscraper located in Hong Kong that comprises 225 floors and is the tallest in the world. His wife Sarah and twin children Henry and Georgia stay with him on the not-yet-opened residential floors. Meeting with Ben, the Pearl's owner Zhao Long Ji, security director Okeke, and head insurance underwriter Pierce, Will reported that the computerized fire and security systems have passed his tests, though he needs to inspect the offsite security center.Zhao provides Will with a tablet that gives him complete control over the Pearl's systems. Will and Ben head to the offsite facility, but a mugger hired by international terrorist Kores Botha attempts to steal the tablet. Ben betrays and attacks Will for the tablet, resulting in Will killing Ben. Botha and a group of his men break into the Pearl and undermine the safety systems by using a water-reactive chemical to start a fire on the 96th floor, creating a barrier that renders it impossible to enter or exit from the upper 130 floors.
Will tries to return to the Pearl, but is attacked by Xia, one of Botha's associates. Xia and her agents take the tablet, kill everyone at the offsite facility, and use the tablet to disable the fire-extinguishing systems in the Pearl and activate the air vents, spreading the fire to the upper floors. Zhao and Okeke send security guards to rescue Will's family, but the guards are killed in an explosion and the family is believed dead. Urged on by Pierce, Zhao orders the remaining personnel to evacuate by helicopter. Pierce, another of Botha's accomplices, kills all of them as Zhao escapes into his penthouse apartment and locks it down from any intrusion. Hong Kong Police Force Inspector Wu and his team attempt to secure the Pearl and capture Will, who is believed to be behind the incidents. Will evades them and makes his way into the Pearl above the fire barrier using a crane from an adjacent building. He kills Pierce before Pierce can kill his family, though Georgia is separated from the others.
Will has Sarah and Henry ride through the fire barrier in a free-fall elevator before applying the emergency brakes, letting them escape safely; Sarah immediately explains the situation to Wu and that Botha's men will likely escape via parachute to a nearby landing zone. Will finds Georgia, but they are captured by Botha, who demands Zhao in return for Georgia. Will is forced to dangerously scale the outside of the building to access the security panel for Zhao's penthouse, then enters and confronts him. Zhao explains that Botha had extorted money from him during the $6 billion construction project by threatening to cripple his workforce, but he kept a detailed computer file of the transactions as insurance, which can reveal accounts and names of three crime syndicates Botha works for, so Botha instigated the attack to obtain the records since his employers threaten to kill him.
Will brings Zhao to Botha at the top of the Pearl, acquiescing to the trade for Georgia. However, Zhao distracts Botha, allowing himself and Will to kill Botha's thugs. Botha grabs Georgia and threatens to drop her off the building, but Will outsmarts him, rescues Georgia, and leaves Botha to die in a grenade explosion as he falls. Wu leads an attack on the drop zone, securing Xia after Sarah subdues her and killing her thugs. Sarah recovers the tablet and uses it to restart the Pearl's systems, extinguishing the blaze. Will, Georgia, and Zhao are brought down safely by helicopter, and the Sawyer family happily reunites while Wu acknowledges and finally meets and greets Will. Zhao states his intention to rebuild the Pearl, shown to have massive fire damage extending from the 96th floor to the roof.
Cast
- Dwayne Johnson as Will Sawyer, a former US Marine, FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and amputee, who now assesses security for skyscrapers.
- Neve Campbell as Sarah Sawyer, Will's wife, a former US Navy doctor.
- Chin Han as Zhao Long Ji, a wealthy Chinese tech entrepreneur and financier of the Pearl.
- Roland Møller as Kores Botha, a Danish terrorist kingpin who plans to control the Pearl skyscraper by starting a fire in random places so he will withdraw millions of dollars in shakedown payments.
- Noah Taylor as Mr. Pierce, a corrupt insurance executive, secretly working for Botha.
- Byron Mann as Inspector Wu, head of the Hong Kong Police Force response team.
- Hannah Quinlivan as Xia, Botha's henchwoman.
- Pablo Schreiber as Ben Gillespie, Will's former colleague and friend who secretly works for Botha.
- McKenna Roberts as Georgia Sawyer, Will and Sarah's daughter and Henry's twin sister.
- Noah Cottrell as Henry Sawyer, Will and Sarah's son and Georgia's twin brother.
- Elfina Luk as Sergeant Han, HKPF.
- Adrian Holmes as Ajani Okeke, Zhao's head of security and personal bodyguard.
- Matt O'Leary as the Skinny Hacker, Botha's computer expert.
- Tzi Ma as Chief Sheng, Hong Kong Fire Services.
- Kevin Rankin as Ray, the father who holds his family hostage in the film's opening.
Production
Development
On May 26, 2016, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment had won the bidding war for a Chinese-set action adventure film, Skyscraper, in which Dwayne Johnson was set to play the lead. Rawson Marshall Thurber was attached as the film's scriptwriter, director and producer, with Beau Flynn producing the film through his Flynn Picture Company, alongside Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions, with Universal Pictures handling distribution rights. On June 22, 2017, it was reported that Neve Campbell had signed on to play the wife of Johnson's character, a role where Maggie Q, Rachel Bilson, Jaimie Alexander and Mira Sorvino were also considered. In July 2017, Chin Han and Pablo Schreiber joined the cast. In August 2017, Byron Mann, Hannah Quinlivan, Noah Taylor, and Roland Møller were added to the cast.Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture consulted the film production on the design of the fictitious 225-story megatall skyscraper, with Adrian Smith quoted as saying that "the producer wanted this to be a tower based on real possibilities". Smith advised "on issues that tall buildings face in real life and design aspects like wind behaviour, tower movement, elevator systems and how supertall towers can become cities within the tower". The architectural rendering of the skyscraper was based on Chinese inspirations, particularly a twisting dragon with a pearl in its mouth. According to the New York Post, "production designer Jim Bissell and his team researched local myths for inspiration and came upon a Chinese fable they could work with." The skyscraper is located where the real-life Hong Kong Cultural Centre is situated.