Amputee US War Veterans Inspire Dwayne Johnson's Character in Skyscraper Movie
While there have been many hit movies and TV series that feature characters who are amputees—Forrest Gump’s Lt. Dan Taylor, Game of Thrones ‘ Jaime Lannister, and Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker—few were able to show the full physical potential and strength of an amputee. Thankfully, the drought will be over soon with Dwayne Johnson’s, aka "The Rock", upcoming movie, Skyscraper, which is slated to hit theaters in July 2018. The Rock is about to show the general public how "badass" amputees can be.
Skyscraper, produced by Johnson’s own production company, Seven Bucks Productions, tells the story of a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and US war veteran Will Sawyer, who is presently employed to assess the security of skyscrapers. On a fateful assignment in China, he finds the tallest, safest building in the world suddenly engulfed in flames. Furthermore, he’s framed for it. A wanted man on the run, Will is on a mission to find those who are responsible, clear his name, and, somehow, rescue his loved ones who are trapped on the top floor of the burning mega-building.
Two years in the making, Skyscraper has already drawn comparisons to Die Hard, the classic Bruce Willis action movie also set in an office building, as well as Towering Inferno, the 1974 disaster movie that starred Paul Newman and Steve McQueen and featured a gargantuan office building swallowed up by flames.
But aside from the guaranteed heart-stopping action scenes, central to the story is Johnson’s character, who, according to him, “is inspired by the thousands of disabled US veterans and war heroes” he has met over the years.
To prepare for this role, Johnson spent a considerable amount of time not only with the world’s top skyscraper architects, but also with US war veterans who have experienced an amputation.
At a distance, the movie may seem like your usual action movie, but what makes it different (and exciting) is Johnson’s character. You may have noticed that in all of Johnson’s movies, he has always played the role of the strong, physically dominant character (i.e. San Andreas, Baywatch, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), considering his size and physique. But in Skyscraper, the whole world will get the chance to root for him as a prosthetic wearing hero, who is bent on saving his beloved family no matter what.
How he uses this to his advantage--if you’ve seen Johnson dangling on his prosthetic leg 240 floors up in the trailer, we’re sure you’ve wondered about this too, he probably wishes he opted for a vacuum system at this time--remains to be seen.
Not much information has been released about the character’s journey before and after amputation, but the trailer makes it clear that Will was able to get through the challenges of “amputee life” by turning to his family for support.
Most important, the movie is set to show everyone that what seems like a physical setback is not enough reason to sit back and watch the bad guys win. Finally, an amputee hero that is just as badass as Hollywood’s usual fare of blockbuster heroes is on his way to the big screen!
Are you looking forward to watching Skyscraper? What do you think of this new movie? Share with us your thoughts below!
