MOVIES PRESSURE ON THE ROCK

to see Dwayne Johnson as you’ve never seen him before in his latest action blockbuster, Skyscraper.

The global film star portrays a dad who doesn’t have all the answers, or the physical stamina to flawlessly, or singlehandedly, save the day.

“We’ve all seen him as a big action star and he’s pretty used to punching his way out of any problem,” director Rawson Marshall Thurber says.

“Dwayne’s my favourite actor on the planet, but in all of his films until this one he’s sort of been invulnerable, bulletproof almost. That’s great and he does it really well, but I wanted to see him be vulnerable. I wanted to see him struggle, have doubt, and barely survive the adventure. It’s a big credit to him because he’s the biggest movie star in the world and he doesn’t have to show vulnerability.”

Johnson plays Will Sawyer, a former FBI hostage rescue team leader and US war veteran who leaves the line of duty after a traumatic accident which costs him the lower part of his leg. Now, years later, he has a family and makes a living assesses security for skyscrapers.

While on assignment in Hong Kong evaluating the world’s tallest and supposedly safest building, his family is put in danger when the floor they’re staying on is suddenly set ablaze. Named as the authorities’ top suspect because of his special security clearance, Sawyer must rescue his family from the burning building while also evading capture.