If you are trapped 100+ stories up in a burning Hong Kong high-rise known as The Pearl, you want “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson trying to save you. Yesterday, I cashed in a gift card and watched Johnson’s new movie Skyscraper. This movie is more Sylvester Stallone’s Cliffhanger than Die Hard.
Will Sawyer, played by Johnson, is a security expert who retired from the FBI and military after losing a portion of his left leg in the film’s opening scene. Sawyer is a highly-trained operative with a unique set of skills.
Sawyer takes his family on a vacation while interviewing for a security consultant position with The Pearl’s owner Zhao Long Ji played by Chin Han. With his wife and two children are staying in a residential unit approximately 100 floors above the ground, terrorists attack the building and set the 96th floor on fire.
Like many of Johnson’s movies, this film is all about entertainment and Johnson saving the day while taking care of dozens of bad guys. If this is what you want, you will not be disappointed. So suspend reality, get some popcorn, and have some fun. There is one needless F-bomb but everything else is fine.
The following are 15 Leaderships Quotes And Lessons From Skyscraper leveraging one of Johnson’s signature phrases “The Rock Says”:
- The Rock Says “Smart Leaders Are Self-Aware Leaders” – Johnson knows what he is and what his audience wants. This is an action movie not Terms Of Endearment. That is what the people want. That is what the people get.
- The Rock Says “You Never Have To Recover From A Good Start” – The opening scene in which Sawyer loses his leg is tense and surprising. Nice opening to the film.
- The Rock Says “Prepare Or Repair” – Sawyer’s wife Sarah, played by Neve Campbell, says, “You’ve been preparing for this meeting for six months.”
- The Rock Says “A Man’s Performance Is In Direct Proportion To His Wife’s Confidence In Him” – As Sawyer was leaving for the interview, Sarah said, “You got this.”
- The Rock Says “Sometimes Leaders Need A Reboot To Their Career” – When he fixed his wife’s cell phone, Sawyer said, “90% of the time you fix a problem by turning it off and on again.”
- The Rock Says “Great Leaders Care About Their Employees” – To connect during the interview, Long Ji knew everything about Sawyer’s family. This showed not only his level of preparation but that he cared about more than just Sawyer’s abilities.
- The Rock Says “Successful Leaders Are Resilient Leaders” – After surviving the opening scene’s bomb blast, Sawyer said, “After that happened, I put my sword down.”
- The Rock Says “Leaders Must Make Hard Decisions” – As Sawyer was jumping from a crane into the building, a police officer asked, “Why would anyone want to get into a burning building?”
- The Rock Says, “If you can’t fix it with duct tape, you’re not using enough duct tape.”
- The Rock Says “Great Leaders Are Resourceful” – Sawyer uses duct tape to patch up wounds and also wrap around his hands to scale the outside of the building.
- The Rock Says “Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals” – The building was attacked by Long Ji made a deal with unsavory people during the building’s construction.
- The Rock Says “Bravery Is Not The Absence Of Fear. It Is Moving Forward In Spite Of That Fear” – Sawyer tells his frightened daughter, “In order to be brave you have to be a little scared.”
- The Rock Says “Great Leaders Put Their Family First” – One of the terrorist told Sawyer, “Your weakness is your family.” Sawyer responds, “Her life is what matters to me. Not mine.”
- The Rock Says “Lucky Leaders Have A Great Families” – As the movie concludes, a police says to Sawyer, “You’ve got quite a family there.” To which he responds, “I’m a lucky man.”
- The Rock Says “Great Leaders Are Resilient, Forward-Thinking Leaders” – After rescuing Long Ji and his daughter, Sawyer asked Long Ji what was next. As they looked at the building’s damage, Long Ji said, “Rebuild.”
Once again, the Academy Awards are safe but this movie is not trying to win any. So turn your brain off, suspend reality for a little bit, and just have some fun watching The Rock take care of some bad guys while saving his family.
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