A silly slice of actionpacked fun
Enjoyable ‘Rampage’ powered by huge animal monsters, explosions, Dwayne Johnson, if not plot
Enjoyable ‘Rampage’ powered by huge animal monsters, explosions and Dwayne Johnson, if not plot.
It’s beginning to feel a lot like summer. At least at the movies. Forget about the temperatures outside. By moving up its hotly anticipated monster “Avengers: Infinity War,” Disney-owned Marvel Studios basically has dictated that the summer movie season starts this year on April 27.
It feels pretty steamy already, though, thanks to a movie in which mega action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson battles giant, genetically modified versions of a gorilla, a wolf and a crocodile hell-bent on knocking down every building in downtown Chicago.
“Rampage” is the latest team-up between Johnson and director Brad Peyton. And like the previous one — 2015’s high-grossing “San Andreas” — it is an impressively made if silly slice of action-packed fun.
“Rampage,” with a script and story credited to a handful of writers who include Ryan Engle (Liam Neeson action vehicles “Non-Stop” and “The Commuter”) and Carlton Cuse (“Lost”), is loosely adapted from the “Rampage” video game franchise that was active from the mid 1980s to mid ‘00s.
Johnson portrays primatologist Davis Okoye, who generally prefers animals to people.
“They get me,” he tells a colleague at a wildlife sanctuary in San Diego.
He’s particularly close with George, a rare albino silverback gorilla that, we come to learn, has been in his care since he rescued the then-young primate from poachers.
George, who can communicate through sign language, is big to begin with, but he starts growing — quickly — after being exposed a highly sophisticated pathogen developed to genetically “edit” its subjects.
(“Rampage” actually begins with a nicely filmed sequence aboard a space station in which a rat has been exposed to the substance. When a scientist radios to someone on earth that her test subject has become an incredible threat, the male voice on the other end patronizingly reminds her it is just a rat. “Not anymore,” she responds.)
At the same time that George is growing physically and becoming more aggressive, a huge mutated wolf is discovered in Wyoming.
This is all the handiwork of ethically questionable Chicago-based company led by billionaire siblings Claire and Brett Wyden played by Malin Akerman (“Billions”) and Jake Lacy (“Love the Coopers”), respectively. The Wydens — more the coldand-calculated Claire than her distractingly nervousNelly brother — want to lure animals-turned-monsters to their headquarters to extract genetic materials from them.
You know, who cares if they might destroy the Windy City in the process?
Helping Davis in his heroic efforts to save George and the city are Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), who used to work for the Wydens and may be able to cure George, and, eventually, a mysterious government agent, Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who starts out as a thorn in Davis’ side.
While the talented Harris (“Moonlight,” “Collateral Beauty”) is rather ordinary in “Rampage,” Morgan adds significantly to the romp. He brings the, um, charming(?) side of his murderous villain character, Negan, from “The Walking Dead” to Russell, whose government status is murky. (When questioned about what law-enforcement arm he works for — CIA? FBI? — he will allow only that it’s OGA — “Other Government Agency.”)
“When some scientist (expletive) the bed,” he says with a bit of wry drawl and that big smile, “I’m the guy they call to clean the sheets.”
This is, of course, Johnson’s show, and the star of recent movies in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise and megahit “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” brings his trademark action-moviestar charm to “Rampage,” getting all the desired laughs at the key moments.
Really, though, the stars of this one are the digitally created monsters, who owe more than a little to creatures such as King Kong and Godzilla. They dwarf Johnson, who’s usually the biggest thing on the screen but here looks like a pipsqueak in some scenes. It’s a blast to watch the gorilla, wolf and, eventually, the biggest-ofthem-all killer croc crawl up — and through — city buildings.
As he did with “San Andreas,” Peyton — who also directed Johnson in 2012’s “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” — deserves a lot of credit for how well “Rampage” works, at least during its action-heavy portions. The director really knows how to construct interesting sequences, and he and
his technical crew execute them well. There are many fun moments in “Rampage.”
Unfortunately, those are balanced by some dull stretches. From a storytelling perspective, there is almost nothing interesting in “Rampage.” Of course, no one goes into a movie like this expecting genuinely surprising twists and turns, but a clever plot choice here or there would have been nice.
Ultimately, “Rampage” is a fun pre-summer party, complete with huge monsters, explosions, collapsing buildings and a larger-thanlife star. Just enjoy yourself.