MPAA Rating: PG-13/ Genre: Sci-Fi/ Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Åkerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, P. J. Byrne, Marley Shelton, Demetrius Grosse, Jack Quaid, Breanne Hill, Matt Gerald, Will Yun Lee, Urijah Faber/Runtime: 107 minutes
Once upon a time, there was an era in the long and storied history of movie magic known as the 1990s. This was a rather special era for movie magic dear reader. Oh sure you still had your typical genres of film, but there was also a rather special breed of film at this time that had never been seen before, but has most assuredly tried to be duplicated in the years since. This was a subgenre known specifically as the 90s action film. These were not your typical action films you see. Rather, these were action films that were stupid if not completely predictable in terms of narrative, one-dimensional in terms of characterization, and yet they did have one thing going for them above anything else in the world. That being that for all the negatives they were saddled with, they were still absolutely 110% entertaining as hell to watch. The reason I bring this up to you today dear reader is because the slice of cinematic pie I am reviewing today, 2018’s Rampage, is a movie that although made in the latter half of the 2010s feels very much like one of those 90s action films of yore if it were rediscovered from the back of a studio vault and finally being released to the movie going public. Oh and I guess there is one other thing about this film I guess I should mention: it also just so happens to be a part of that distinct club known as the cinematic adaptations of video games club. Yep you read that right dear reader: it just so happens that this slice of cinematic pie is actually an adaptation of an arcade, with a later release to home consoles, same titled video game that although it hasn’t seen any new versions for say the PS5 or Xbox One is still apparently highly regarded enough that someone in Hollywood thought it deserved the big screen treatment in order for movie audiences to be regaled by its simplistic narrative saga about a trinity of giant creatures deciding to wreak havoc on the poor city of Chicago for….reasons whilst also throwing screen favorite Dwayne Johnson and a game supporting cast into the mix as well. Yet for all of that the film has going for it, it might sound a bit repetitive to say, but I honestly see nothing here that is novel or distinct in even the slightest. Oh sure it’s large-scale in the best way possible, but at the same time it is also a film that when you take away the digital tricks, the fairly well integrated special effects work, and the larger than life action beats what you are left with is fairly basic in every sense of the word. Yet to give credit to this slice of cinematic pie where credit is due, it does play by and large exactly how you think a movie like this should whilst also making sure you are aware that it is wishing to be no more and no less than entertaining in its pursuit of showing us giant chaotic creatures annihilating downtown Chicago as well as taking airplanes out of the sky in the way you or I might swat a mosquito. Thus this slice of cinematic pie is for all intents and purposes a delightful 21st century tribute to both the previously mentioned popcorn 90s action movies as well as the wonderful old-school monster movies of ol’ as well.
The plot is as follows: Rampage opens its riveting yarn in the infamous final frontier that is outer space onboard a space station where we quickly are able to see that some kind of science experiment involving a rat has gone terribly awry. How awry has taken the shape and form of the station’s crew being viciously annihilated and the station a complete and utter wreck. We soon thereafter learn that the rat was being experimented on with a borderline ethical scientific procedure in the field of genetic editing known as CRISPR. A procedure that, due to the easy possibility of being abused, has been labeled as a possible WMD. From there, we quickly head off to the San Diego Wildlife Preserve where we meet our main character, one Davis Okoye. Mr. Okoye, we learn, is a former Special Forces operative turned elite poacher hunter turned decent and down to earth guy who has decided to make it his life’s work to work alongside the preserve’s gorilla population. Specifically though, we see that Davis is especially close with an albino gorilla he has named George. Yet that bond will soon be put to the test when George one night inadvertently is infected with a mystery substance that has come to our planet from that same space station. Yet he is not alone in this infection as we see that along with him both a wolf and an alligator also come into contact with the substance and it isn’t long before this unholy trinity start not only growing exponentially, but also begin mutating into terrifying nature cocktails and set off on a course of destruction and chaos for Chicago. Thus Davis, a geneticist by the name of Kate Caldwell, and an enigmatic yet smarmy government agent named Harvey Russell now find themselves in a race against time to stop these animals from completely and utterly annihilating the city of Chicago. A mission that will also pit them against the head of the company who created what has infected these animals to begin with and who is determined to either cover her tracks or recover her company’s property no matter who or what gets in her way.
Now I’m not gonna lie to you dear reader: the beginning of this slice of cinematic pie is one that operates as no more and no less than a vital bit of framework that is meant to do no more and no less than set everything in motion to help the movie get to what it knows people want to see which is pure and unadulterated monster destruction. At the same time though, everything else including the cast of characters and the narrative are all ones I’m sure you’ve seen before in movies like this including the ex-special forces operative, the whiz kid who also has heart, the smarmy government agent with an unexpected heart of gold, the ruthless head honcho, and their goofy sidekick who only exists to give the movie a few laughs here and there. Yes I know how one-note a lot of this sounds, but in all fairness this is not a movie that is aiming to win Best Picture at the Oscars and film helmer Brad Peyton knows that the key to a movie like this working is to just keep a laser-sharp focus on steadily increasing the action in this film until we get to a second half that is just delightfully gonzo to the max monster mayhem.
It is with that ingredient in mind that I can honestly promise you that if you choose to give this movie a watch, you most assuredly won’t be disappointed. I say that because this is one slice of cinematic pie that manages to check just the right boxes when it comes to its visual effects and action beats as it manages to assemble quite a grandiose and very well-done monster mash that, from a structure point of view, really is a wonderful throwback to the monster movies of old albeit with all of the perks that a film being made today can have at its disposal in regards to visual effects. Suffice it to say this is one film that takes the full advantage of this especially in the second half of this movie when the creatures are running amok through Chicago completely and utterly annihilating anything that is unfortunate enough to get in their way. Of course, as the animals continue to grow and evolve, how humanity’s approach to dealing with them changes too as it may start with just some cops with pistols, but eventually it goes all the way to Apache helicopters and an ominous stealth bomber carrying what is known as a MOAB (Mother Of All Bombs). Of course none of these methods are particularly effective because you can’t just wipe one of these critters out 40-45 minutes in. Thus the weapons continue to fire and the creatures’ reign of destruction gets more and more widespread and yet nowhere to be found is riveting Shakespearean-level drama. However this is not a bad thing since despite the lack of Academy Award-level pathos here there is a wonderful bit of fun to be found so please just sit back and enjoy the show.
Now in regards to the cast, I do feel that in the lead role it should honestly come as no surprise to anyone out there to learn that Dwayne Johnson gives us a performance that is both good, but just as important, entertaining as well though to some this might not be as surprising since this can be seen in the same vein as his role in something like say Skyscraper (released the same year as this incidentally) for example. Indeed his moments where he is seen interacting with George are actually quite funny and of course Johnson makes for a wonderful personality to follow through this popcorn film thus showing once more that Johnson has always been more than just a slab of muscle. Now the rest of the cast does do good work, even if their characters are all ones you have seen in movies of this ilk a million times before, but there is one who I feel deserves mention a bit more than the rest and that would have to be Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Agent Harvey Russell. Indeed from the very first moment he appears on screen, Morgan gives off such a delightful mix of swagger, charm, and just plain smarminess that whenever he is on screen he is just an absolute joy to watch. Other than the work done by Morgan though, this is one film that wisely knows where to put its focus and that would be on the action beats, on the ever-charismatic screen presence of Dwayne Johnson, and on the unholy trinity of creatures causing destruction and chaos throughout and it is these ingredients which are strong enough to help make this movie the best kind of over the top and slightly idiotic, but fun all the same that exists in the world of movie magic.
All in all the 2018 slice of cinematic pie that is Rampage is one that manages to give audiences quite a bit of entertainment filled to the brim with potent special effects work, a roster of characters that by and large are all characters we have seen in these kinds of movies before even if the performers playing them all do fairly dependably good work especially Johnson and Morgan who look like they are having a blast in their respective parts, and a narrative of monsters running amok and causing chaos on a grand scale that is one that also has been seen a million times before. Yet despite the severe lack of novelty to be found in this respective slice of cinematic pie, it still operates on the level that it was meant to. Ultimately though it will be up to each and every one of you though to decide if this big dumb popcorn fun movie is one that you can get behind or if it’s one that is better left in the 5-dollar bin at the movie store you found it in to begin with. On a scale of 1-5 I give Rampage “2018” a solid 3 out of 5.
