Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Neve Campbell
Ng Chin Han
At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, movies just aren’t the same anymore. As franchises and cinematic universes became the norm we have seen far less star-driven movies. Instead of heading to the theaters to see the latest Stallone movie or who Jason Statham will beat up this time it’s more about the latest chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or how a YA book series is going to be the start of a new franchise. One of the few names to buck this trend has been Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The former wrestling world champion has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. And while he’s better knowing for rebooting franchises like GI Joe or The Fast & The Furious he is also the center of a very specific genre, ‘Rock Movies.’
For example, San Andreas can basically be described as The Rock does a disaster movie. Or how Rampage can be described as The Rock fights kaiju. Thanks to his range as an actor and charm Johnson is able to be put into all of these genres while playing a similar character each time. The latest movie to star the former WWE champion is Skyscraper.
Johnson stars as Will Sawyer, a former FBI hostage negotiator turned security expert. Thanks to a friend he gets a job as a security consultant for The Pearl, an architectural marvel in Hong Kong. Suddenly The Pearl goes up in flames with the blame falling on an innocent Will. Wanted by the police it’s up to Will to clear his name, find the criminals responsible and save his family before The Pearl is engulfed with flame. Or, in ‘Rock Movies’ parlance, The Rock does a Die Hard.
While the script doesn’t call for Johnson to drop as many one-liners as John McClane he remains just as charming. As in his other action movies, he does a great job selling the intensity of the situation. No matter what preposterous thing is coming after him, Johnson makes it believable. His captivating personality translates just as well in the quieter moments. When on screen with children Georgia and Henry (child actors McKenna Roberts and Noah Cottrell, respectively) all of that intensity goes away. What we get instead is the happy, smiling Rock that we’ve all come to know and love.
Joining Johnson for the second time is writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber. First working with together on 2016’s Central Intelligence. More known for comedies such as We’re The Millers and Dodgeball this is actually his first full blown action movie. All things considered he acclimates himself to the genre pretty well. Coming in at a reasonable 102 minutes Skyscraper is quite the well-paced movie. As silly as a scene might get I never felt like the movie was spinning its wheels. In fact, it runs head first into the ridiculousness.
The Rock doesn’t just run to save his daughter. He does it in a burning park. He doesn’t just have to shut off a server. He has to do it while scaling the outside of a burning building. It’s the kind of explosive, over-the-top mayhem summer blockbusters were made for and Rawson Marshall Thurber captures every heart pounding second of it. Just as impressive is the originality for these set pieces. The finale in particular is a fun twist on the old house of mirrors setting. The only real stumble comes from hand-to-hand combat. Like a lot of directors Thurber utilizes a lot of shaky cam making some scenes hard to follow. Thankfully Skyscraper is more about big stunts than straight up fights.
As fun as Rock Movies can be they aren’t perfect and the same can be said of Skyscraper. Like a lot of his movies Dwayne Johnson is the focus the supporting cast suffer. More a collection of character traits and clichés they are basically there to support Johnson. This is particularly noticeable with Neve Campbell. It isn’t necessarily her performance either. She’s perfectly fine as Rock’s wife. The problem is how little she is given to do. More often than not she is either playing the doting wife or caring mother. It really feels like a waste.
The special effects can also be shoddy at times. Considering how VFX-heavy the action scenes can be this quickly becomes a distraction. Things like fire and the building can look quite fake. Things like green screen can become obvious if that is the kind of thing you notice. And as creative as the finale can be the effects aren’t quite as ambitious. This could be excusable for a smaller film but for a movie with a $125 million budget it shouldn’t look as bad as it is.
At the end of his 2000 book The Rock Says… the former pro wrestler tries to predict his future. With the main goal being Hollywood and becoming the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. As fictitious as the book can get this was clearly something he planned to do. In the 18 years since the book was released Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has become a larger than life figure and Skyscraper is a perfect example why. Because despite its flaws, and there are many, it’s still a fun watch. Whether it’s The Rock jumping into a flaming building or hiding in a maze of mirrors he remains one of the most magnetic men on the big screen. With the audience in the palm of his hands, Skyscraper is the kind of summer movie Rampage wanted to be.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Plot
A new generation of stars join the world’s top action stars for an adrenaline-fueled adventure in Expend4bles. Reuniting as the team of elite mercenaries, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone are joined for the first time by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia. Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning.
Iko Uwais as Suarto Rahmat (Lionsgate Movies)
The Expendables Film Series
I highly recommend catching up on the other movies in the Expendables film series.
Expendables 1 (2010)
The only life they’ve known is war. The only loyalty they have is to each other. They are the Expendables: leader and mastermind Barney Ross (Stallone), former SAS blade expert Lee Christmas (Statham), hand-to-hand combat specialist Yin Yang (Li), long barrel weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Crews), demolitions expert Toll Road (Couture), and precision sniper Gunnar Jensen (Lundgren). Living life in the fringes of the law, these hardened mercenaries take on what appears to be a routine assignment: a covert, CIA-funded operation to infiltrate the South American country of Vilena and overthrow its ruthless dictator General Garza (David Zayas). But when their job is revealed to be a suicide mission, the men are faced with a deadly choice, one that might redeem their souls or destroy their brotherhood forever.
The Expendables Official Trailer (Lionsgate Movies)
Expendables 2
Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six tons of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….
The Expendables 2 Official Trailer (Lionsgate Movies)
Expendables 3 (2014)
In The Expendables 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. In order to defeat Stonebanks, Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
The Expendables 3 Official Trailer (Lionsgate Movies)
Movie Review
Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sylvester Stallone bring the explosive energy needed to give us an explosive performance on-screen. The new members, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia bring in a breath of fresh air with new attitude and fighting styles to keep us entertained. This movie is the fourth in the Expendable film series, but there is definitely no clear link between this movie and the prequels. Each movie in essence is a new mission and Expendables 4 can be watched without watching the previous movies. I suggest watching the previous three movies to experience the explosive action that you get when you combine our favorite action heroes.
Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, leader of the Expendables (Lionsgate Movies)
Expendables 4 was great and delivered yet another action-packed mission filled with awesome fights, humor, cultural references and explosions. However, it wasn’t difficult to spot the main villain and there aren’t much surprises in terms of the new action stars who join this mission.
The movie starts us off with the Expendables in a race against time to retrieve nuclear warheads, but the mission goes south and instead of sticking to orders, one of the soldiers attempt to save his team member instead, which results in a failed mission and a casualty. The story follows the combination of accomplishing the mission while delivering a can of revenge-based whoop-ass. The last fight isn’t as explosive as the cast but still manages to deliver a plot-twist finale.
Megan Fox, Andy Garcia & Jacob Scipio, some of the newest members of the Expendables (Lionsgate Movies)
A future sequel should really consider a completely new group pick up the baton and leave us in suspense as to who the new heroes and villains could be. I love a good surprise with a side of plot twist in any movie.
There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait till the very end. The trailer doesn’t spoil any of the plot twists you can expect from the movie. Overall, my rating for Expendables 4 is a 3.5 out of 5.
Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom [credit: Warner Bros. / DC]
Genre:
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Release Date:
December 20, 2023
Director:
James Wan
Cast:
Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Plot Summary:
Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie, Retribution, being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Plot
When a mysterious caller puts a bomb under Matt Turner’s car seat, he begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks. With his kids trapped in the back seat and a bomb that will explode if they get out of the car, a normal commute becomes a twisted game of life or death as Matt follows the stranger’s increasingly dangerous instructions in a race against time to save his family.
Liam Neeson as Matt Turner (Lionsgate Films)
Did You Know?
This movie is the third remake of the movie titled Retribution.
In 2015, a Spanish-language adaptation, The Stranger (El desconocido) was released. This was the first Retribution movie. A dishonest banker pays the ultimate price for his wrongdoings when he is held hostage in his own speeding car by a bomb-making extortionist.
In 2018, a German-language adaptation, Don’t. Get. Out! (Steig. Nicht. Aus!) was released in Germany. A loving father and husband is extorted by an unknown guy and he is about to lose his life, his money and his family
In 2021, a Korean version, Hard Hit (Balsinjehan) was released. On his way to work, a bank manager receives an anonymous call claiming there’s a bomb under his car seat, and if anyone exits the car, it will explode unless he can pay a ransom.
The Turner Family (Lionsgate Films)
Movie Review
Liam Neeson plays the role of Matt Turner, and is literally in the ‘hot seat’ throughout most of the movie. The movie eases you into the drama and the suspense keeps building as the time passes. No time is wasted to bring A small cast brought an intense situation to life in Retribution, and I need to compliment, especially Liam Neeson, Jack Champion and Lilly Aspell, who played the parts of Matt Turner, Zach Turner and Emily Turner respectively for playing the part in the car to perfection. A plot twist is delivered at the end, but the ending is not as explosive as the bomb in the car.
Overall my rating is 3 out of 5 for the Retribution. There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait till the end. The trailer doesn’t spoil too much of the movie and serves as a great appetizer for Retribution.
Catch the trailer, and watch Retribution at a cinema near you.