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| photo courtesy of teaser-trailer.com |
Rampage, loosely based on a video game
series of the same name, is the latest Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson action
vehicle. This time, it’s Johnson against no less than three giant monsters—a mutated
gorilla, wolf, and crocodile—in an all-out brawl in the middle of downtown
Chicago. The monsters are the product of illegal genetic engineering by a secretive
company called Energyne. When Energyne proves unable to control their creations
and the military fails to stop them, it’s up to Johnson’s character,
primatologist Davis Okoye, and scientist Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) to halt
the monstrous rampage before it wipes out half the city.
Rampage is exactly as big and dumb as the
giant gorilla at its center, and that’s not totally a bad thing. Sure, nothing
makes a whole lot of sense, and sure, most of the characters are a little
ridiculous, but the reason we’re all here is to watch giant animals bring down skyscrapers.
On that count, Rampage doesn’t
disappoint; there’s as much brainless blockbuster violence as you can wrap your
head around. So many things blow up. So many.
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| photo courtesy of theplaylist.net |
A movie like this depends on CGI to
create its massive spectacle-driven sequences, and Rampage’s CGI is fairly impressive but inconsistent. Earlier, more
intimate shots of the animals are artfully rendered, but the animation loses
something as they start becoming unhinged and less lifelike. In any case, the
animation is good enough to get the job done; when the monster mayhem kicks
into gear, the movie produces a substantial and mostly satisfying showdown. I’ve
certainly seen action finales that are more interesting (even mindless ones!),
but Rampage delivers on its promise.
If you’re not seeing Rampage for the CGI showdowns, you’re
probably seeing it for Johnson’s performance. Johnson is probably the most
bankable star in Hollywood right now, and it’s easy to see why: he’s got the
natural charisma to do comedy and romance, and the energy to deliver exciting
action sequences. In a world of ever-expanding Marvel and Star Wars franchises,
he’s casually bringing back the 80’s hard-body action hero—but with more jokes.
In Rampage, Johnson doesn’t get the
benefit of the superior material or supporting cast of something like, say, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, but he
still shines through.
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| photo courtesy of aintitcool.com |
The only other notable member of the
cast is Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays government agent Harvey Russell. Morgan’s
character is sort of bizarre, cropping up in the background here and there to
give the good guys an assist. He’s a tough, cowboy-type hero, and even if his role
doesn’t really make much sense, he adds an enjoyable flavor to the proceedings.
Plot-wise, Rampage doesn’t do a whole lot to challenge its audience. Scenes in
between action sequences are just that: filler material between action sequences.
It’s not a surprise, then, that the middle stretch of the movie gets weighed
down by boring, copy-and-paste scenes. The only non-action scene with any real
potential is the film’s introduction to Okoye, where we see him introducing a
group of newbies to the gorillas in the zoo. I’d like to see the feature-length
version of that, minus all the giant monster stuff. As is, Rampage doesn’t have much to do until it gets around to the
smashy-smashy parts.
Watch the trailer here.
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| photo courtesy of latimes.com |
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