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Movie Review - Rampage

The Rock, bruised and bleeding, hauls a grenade launcher across battle-torn Chicago. His friend, a giant ape called George, is battling an equally-massive wolf named Ralph.
Rampage

The Rock, bruised and bleeding, hauls a grenade launcher across battle-torn Chicago. His friend, a giant ape called George, is battling an equally-massive wolf named Ralph. The Rock launches round after round into the vicious wolf, which scales a building and soars through the air with its bat-like wings. The Rock, weary and sardonic, utters the classic line: “Of course the wolf can fly.”

 

Needless to say, Rampage is a stupid movie. In fact, it might be the stupidest big-budget movie of 2018. I’m not sure what could out-stupid a film where The Rock fist-bumps a titanic gorilla, but I encourage any director to try.

 

There’s no reason Rampage should be any good. A mid-April action flick directed by the guy who made San Andreas and starring The Rock should be cheap, disposable trash. And in a lot of ways, it is. But it might be the most enjoyable junk movie made so far this year.

 

Rampage fully commits to its insane premise, rising above awfulness and ironic-enjoyment into a level of actual quality. Its action scenes live up to its title name so gloriously that it’s easy to overlook its myriad flaws and shortcomings. Rampage is a distilled summer blockbuster, eschewing good writing and nuanced characters for pure adrenaline. Rampage is the Big Mac of 2018 movies: No nutritional value, but damn if it isn’t tasty.

 

In fact, since Rampage is (very) loosely based on an 80s arcade game, it may be the best video-game movie adaptation since Mortal Kombat. That may sound like a low bar, but Rampage easily clears it.

 

The plot is straightforward, no-frills B-movie schlock. An evil genetic company (is there any other kind in movies?) called Energyne is manufacturing super-pathogens in space (because why not?). Unfortunately, their shuttle explodes and three pathogens crash into Earth, mutating a wolf, a crocodile, and George, a gorilla in a San Diego preserve. George is best friends with Davis Okoye (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), an ex-special forces primatologist who prefers animals over humans. Davis watches George grow to mammoth proportions before his friend is captured by the FBI, lead by a scenery-chewing Jeffrey Dean Morgan. But this ape escapes and Davis has to stop George and the other animals from destroying Chicago.

 

The script is refreshingly stripped-down. There are no distracting subplots or teases for future movies in a connected universe. Every character serves a specific purpose to the main story. The plot is designed to cram the most giant monster mayhem into 107-minutes, and it gets the job done. While the writing isn’t great, it keeps the story moving at a brisk pace.

 

The Rock is fantastic in the lead role. He might be the most earnest actor in Hollywood. He always fully commits to his movies, no matter how terrible or bizarre they might be. Sometimes that backfires, such as last year’s abysmal Baywatch, which wasted The Rock’s enthusiasm on mean-spirited jokes and ironic detachment. The Rock needs a film that goes all-in with him, and Rampage is that movie.

 

The Rock brings an easy-going, fun charisma to the role, lighting up the screen with decent one-liners and charm. He has a warm, plausible relationship with George, which is impressive considering the ape is 100 per cent CGI. The Rock carries the movie through its dumbest moments, lending his high-voltage energy to every scene.

 

Sadly, the other actors can’t keep up. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is absolutely ridiculous as a cowboy FBI agent with a grudging respect for The Rock. His accent is laughable and he’s so hammy with every line you expect him to turn into Easter dinner. Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy are horrendous as the villainous duo behind Energyne. Akerman’s biggest decision to stand out is to wear a different dress in every scene, while Lacy just bugs out his eyes and mugs for the camera. The CGI gorilla is more believable than these goofs.

 

While the CGI is solid for the most parts, there are several scenes where it clearly needed another month or two of polish. A parachuting scene is utterly embarrassing and The Rock’s early interactions with a normal-sized George lack polish. Director Brad Peyton covers these flaws fairly well, giving the production a slick, bouncy feel, but he doesn’t give the movie much of a personality. The visuals and camerawork never look very distinct, aside from the excellent action scenes, where Peyton truly shines.

All these flaws just add to Rampage’s appeal. It’s a SyFy original movie with a big budget and The Rock; what more could you ask for? Rampage might not be remembered six months down the line, but in the moment, it’s a blast.