“It took a few minutes to find its footing, but once it did it took off in a full sprint and didn’t stop until the credits began.”

I was very excited to see Skyscraper as soon as I first saw the trailer. What’s not to love? It’s an action movie with The Rock. That alone is enough to sell me a ticket to this movie, but the fact that it is essentially a Die Hard remake is the cherry on top.

It’s no secret that Skyscraper borrows at least partially from the plot of Die Hard, but that’s what makes it appealing to me. Imagine Die Hard but instead of Bruce Willis you have The Rock, and instead of Alan Rickman as the infamous villain Hans Gruber you have a fire. It sells itself! I was pumped to watch this movie, and luckily my excitement didn’t waver throughout the film.

Skyscraper starts off kind of slow. There is a lot of set up for the plot, and none of it is particularly interesting. We learn about The Rock’s job, and what he is testing at this brand new building, and that his family loves pandas; but it’s all pretty boring stuff. My attention was starting to waver until it happened: Skyscraper busts out one of the most brutal fight scenes I have seen since the Bourne films, and never stops the action until the credits role. Those first twenty or so minutes are so different from what this movie actually is. If you can stick it out through that rough patch you are in for a real treat.

Sure the performances were nothing to discuss, and the story itself was pretty basic, but what really works for this movie is the action. It takes a minute to find its footing, but when it does it becomes a non-stop thrill ride. The set pieces in this movie are consistently stunning, mixing wonderfully choreographed fight scenes with vertigo-inducing stunts that really glue you to the edge of your seat. And surprisingly the effects in this movie help sell these moments. The entire movie is spent anxiously waiting to see what happens next, and it all pays off with the phenomenal climax that really sets Skyscraper apart from a lot of its competition (most of which also stars The Rock). I will admit that the main character in the movie had a weird affinity duct tape, but that just added to a lot of the comedic moments throughout the film.

Overall Skyscraper did not disappoint in the slightest. It took a few minutes to find its footing, but once it did it took off in a full sprint and didn’t stop until the credits began. The movie is filled to the brim with insane action sequences that will thrill and amaze you making the price of admission a no-brainer.

I give Skyscraper an A