Skyscraper

Skyscraper (1996)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Raymond Martino

Starring: Anna Nicole Smith, Richard Steinmetz, Charles M. Huber, Jonathan Fuller, Branko Cikatic

From: PM Entertainment

“This isn’t Dostoevsky!” A quote that I remember someone in the production made at the time of filming.

Yes, it was recent online chatter elsewhere which inspired me to view this motion picture on YouTube. I’ve mentioned PM Entertainment before; they were a direct to video outfit which was predicated on crazy explosions & even crazier stunts. The latter would equal or even eclipse what was seen in Hollywood productions of the era. The few I’ve witnessed were all cheesy yet a lot of fun. This is one of their most famous efforts, solely due to the lead: Anna Nicole Smith!

She is a helicopter pilot (!); the filmmakers did give the audience what they’d desire in an era where the Internet had not quite yet taken off: a gratuitous shower scene then a gratuitous sex scene involving Smith. She’s married to a cop who becomes involved in a case involving a suitcase MacGuffin; this leads to a hostage crisis they’re both involved with. Besides the sexy moments, there’s also shootouts, martial arts, a rocket launcher, and impressive stunts. It’s not the best I’ve seen in a PM picture yet still stands out from the CG action of the 21st century. 

Some of the acting you wouldn’t want to see in a Dostoevsky adaptation-not just from Anna Nicole. Speaking in a critical sense, Skyscraper is rather poor in terms of acting, logic, storytelling, fake accents, etc. Lord knows it’s an idiotic version of Die Hard. Yet, it can be fun for B-movie afficionados. This has Croatian kickboxer Branko Cikatic, after all-would you believe that both he and Smith were Associate Producers-men in leather pants & Anna Nicole in a shootout w/ Malibu from American Gladiators. It’s all inane yet it has enough action beats & hilariously bad moments to make this OK.

I never mention what YouTube channels I see films on but I will in this case. It was Crap Film Club, which also has the likes of a movie called Cybertracker 2 and Ninja Terminator, from GODFREY HO.