‘Skyscraper’ script frustrates, but latest action flick starring Johnson delivers the big moments

None of that really matters, however, because “Skyscraper” largely delivers in the action department, even though action is not the forte of its writer-director, Rawson Marshall Thurber. As fire ascends the building and reaches into the sky, Johnson’s Will races to save his family and stop the bad guys before the titular skyscraper is just a tall memory.

The fictional Hong Kong building at the center of “Skyscraper,” The Pearl, actually is the movie’s most interesting character, Thurber envisioning a futuristic structure with myriad man-made wonders. At 225 stories and more than 3,500 feet high, it is the world’s tallest and large enough, states the movie’s production notes, to hold “nearly three Empire State Buildings.” It is powered by numerous solar panels and a nifty double-helix wind turbine that, of course, will become key at one point.

While home to a fivestar hotel, an acclaimed restaurant, the imaginative 30-story Jade Park and a yet-to-open residential top half — save for the penthouse occupied by its inventive creator, Chin Han (Zhao Long Ji of “The Dark Knight”) — the interest of the public centers around a mysterious spherical element at its top. What mysteries lie within?

“This is stupid.” ¶ Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Will Sawyer says this as he’s about to climb down the outside of a towering inferno and potentially die hard in “Skyscraper,” the latest action vehicle for the hulking actor. (Your age may dictate whether you feel the movie borrows more heavily from 1974’s “The Towering Inferno” or 1988’s “Die Hard.”) ¶ While the movie itself isn’t stupid — it boasts a decent-enough premise and holds your interest — it can be pretty uninspired at times and fails to make the most of its capable star.