Roland Møller – Tripping Through Gateways

I imagine the pitch meeting for Skyscraper went something like this…

“Think ‘Die Hard’ in a really, really, really, really, really, really, really tall building.”

“uh…”

“Starring the Rock!”

“SOLD!!!!!!!”

The Rock plays Will Sawyer, who was in a major accident as a FBI hostage rescuer. A decade later he is a husband and father. He runs a small security business and he has been brought to Hong Kong with his family to give his expert advice for the tallest smart building in the world. But when the building is attacked and Will is framed, he must do everything in his power to get into the building and save his family.

The film moves at a pretty fast page, mostly because, really, there is very little characterization. Will and his wife Sarah are the most fleshed out, followed by building owner Zhao Long Ji. This is great for Sarah who plays much more than just “wife in distress” and is instead a very active participant in their survival. The movie definitely hinges on the Rock’s natural charm though. The terrorists are extremely generic, with only two set apart….the leader and his right hand woman Xia…whose main characterization is “can walk through a hail of bullets without flinching or getting hit”.

And yet, the film remains pretty exciting, regardless of how familiar many of the beats feel, in fact, I honestly only thought about the shortcomings later. In the moment? Skyscraper kept up a fast pace that kept me engaged.

Set in Denmark after World War II, the Danish Government realizes their beaches are covered in deadly landmines. Rather than risk their own people, they choose to use the German POWs that are so despised.

The film introduces us to Sergeant Carl Rasmussen as the Germans are being marched out of Denmark. He is a man consumed with rage, and sees a German carrying a flag, and assaults him. Rasmussen is assigned several German POWs to clear a local beach of landmines. The POWs are actually about fifteen to eighteen years of age. They really are boys who seem to not understand what they were fighting for.

There is a scene early on in which several of the boys became sick. When it is discovered they stole pig feed from the local farm out of desperation, it is realized they ingested rat dropping, causing the illness. The woman who owns the farm laughs, telling Rasmussen that she got some Germans after all.

And this is the movie’s big risk. These boys were Nazis. But they are young boys, and it makes it harder to just be callous towards them. And much of Land of Mine is about Rasmussen’s journey from anger to sympathy. His concern that his superiors are being as cruel and as unkind as the Nazis were.

It is an intense film, where a cough can bring the unexpected end to a life. You watch as these boys risk life and limb, and one careless moment can leave the viewer gasping. This is a powerful film film, low on physical violence, but emotionally jarring.

Tag: Roland Møller

Reach for the Sky! (Skyscraper, 2018)

Stress (Land of Mine, 2015)