Totally surprised by Rampage movie! Now I don’t generally walk in with high hopes for a video game movie. They have a really bad track record except for Tomb Raider which I thought was pretty good when you hang them up to dry. What was making matters already worse for Rampage was its trailer, which had already shown all the daft stuff that we were to see and expect from the flick. Turns out the movie is actually entertaining.
Brad Peyton has a history of making pointless movies. So a movie wherein genetically engineered giants are overtaking a city seemed not only far-fetched but utterly imaginative. But that was a game after all. Even though the fancy feels undoubtedly juvenile, the good thing is that the movie adaptation of the Rampage game leverages it to the maximum.
Hits and Misses
Rampage movie becomes laughable at times, the CGI in particular, where you can literally differentiate the background from the forefront. There are plenty of instances lurking in the latter half of the movie that insinuate the obvious.
But luckily that isn’t the case for the most part of it. There are areas where it scores high owing to its CGI alone. All of it fills the movie with content giving it a proper weight in terms of substance.
Rampage movie houses plenty of action primarily in areas where the trinities wreak havoc. All of it is bound to take you back to your childhood days. If you are not meticulously bothered about minutiae that makes up a movie, you wouldn’t realize its numerous flaws. Just do not think much and you are going to end up having a good time.
Plot and Theme of Rampage Movie (Spoilers)
Peyton walks in with an impossible plot and yet he turns it into something tangible. Few minutes in the movie, and you are thinking – I will bite it. Because things are made pretty believable. From a zero-gravity shot in the beginning to the part where the three, nay two animals, are shown encountering humans for the first time are just ravishingly built.
Gene manipulation canisters fall on earth at three different locations, as a result of an experiment gone wrong. They are either consumed or encountered by three different animals – a wolf, a crocodile and a gorilla. Out of these animals, the gorilla is friendly. Name’s George who is under the care of Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), a primatologist in a wildlife preserve.
With rapid genetic changes, these animals begin to grow showing immense strength. Davis is approached by Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) who explains him the concept behind genetic editing.
The Summon
To make matters worse we have brother-sister duo antagonists who use a transmitter in the center of Chicago to lure the animals in order to cover up their screw-up by distorting all evidence and pointing them towards Kate. So the trio, the monsters, rampage towards the center of the city destroying everything in their wild run as the US Army tries to stop them.
But they are unstoppable. They destroy the transmitter as Davis becomes successful in bringing George to the good side of the wall.
Then George and Davis become tight again, and they attack the Wolf (Ralph) and the Crocodile (Lizzie). Even though the Wolf and the Crocodile are already fighting. But the Croc makes the job easy (Watch out for that badass bit where the croc literally rips the wolf apart!)
George and Davis together manage to slay the reptilian as George ends up going down. Surprise! Eventually, we find him intact as well as he plays pretend dead to mock Davis.
Other Characters
In Rampage movie, we find Jeffrey Dean Morgan picked off and dusted straight from the sets of The Walking Dead. His cowboy Harvey Russell has a lot of matching characteristics, it’s like you are still somehow watching Negan.
Sadly his role, which could have been much more, ends up becoming restricted. He is nothing but a smug guy calling covert shots. What is painful to watch is him surviving a plane crash only to support Davis by providing him choppers and stuff. Really weird writing!
Then there is P.J. Byrne as Nelson, who is initially present, you know, as a sidekick who keeps cracking jokes to alleviate the horror. But unfortunately, his existence is short lived. For the character’s living only in the beginning part of the movie, and then disappears completely never showing in any front later on.
Joe Manganiello‘s presence felt good. But he is more like a cameo in the movie who is put down even before he breathes. He is just there to make the wolf appear all the more powerful.
He plays Burke who is a hired gun for the antagonists.
Even though the wolf’s hunt has been brilliantly captured, you can’t help but wonder why a strong character like that wasn’t milked enough. Was it just to give Rocky all the limelight? I wonder.
Rocky still has a lot of work to do in the dramatic department. You can barely tell if he is sad. There was a scene where he was supposed to feel bad about George’s possible demise, and yet tears fail to come out. That man’s literally a rock!
You can order Rampage movie from here:
The Final Verdict
All in all the movie ends up becoming entertaining, thanks to all the monsters. Story? Not that much, and Rocky’s just smacked in the middle of everything. Playing a hero that’s just trying to save his pet.
The screenplay seems as if no amount of thought has been put in it.
I look like shit? You look like big shit.
If that’s not poor writing!
You can leave your brains home for this one. Entertains nevertheless!
Rampage
Pros
- The Monster Fight
- Ralph the Wolfie
- Action
- Introduction of all animals
Cons
- Poor Screenplay
- Substandard Direction
- Poor Plot
