Rampage Is Ridiculously Over-The-Top Yet Works Well At Being Such

      Making a movie based off a video game is no easy task with most cases being the end result is nothing but largely disappointing for the most part. There are few exceptions though where the end result proves to be reasonably entertaining (The original Mortal Kombat movie is still the best video game turned film adaptation yet) but audiences have it in their minds that a video game movie will most likely be disappointing. With Rampage, the end result isn't horrible as the movie is actually fun and entertaining to watch as a brainless blockbuster, that amounts to a roaring good time. Based off a 1986 arcade game by Bally Midway and later released by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment in the 2000's, the story for the game centered around the players trying to take control of gigantic monsters, while trying to survive against an onslaught of military forces. The film keeps the spirit of the game intact with a storyline that feels like a cross between a Godzilla movie mixed with both King Kong and Mighty Joe Young with The Rock's relationship with the giant gorilla George. While the end result doesn't top the source material it draws from, it substitutes the audience playing the creatures and wrecking havoc for a traditional monster film, that works very well as being popcorn entertainment.

      The plot for Rampage keeps the spirit of the video game intact while finding a plausible story to place the action around. The story focuses on an anti-poaching primatologist (Played by Dwayne Johnson) with few human connections carrying a special bond for an intelligent silverback gorilla he saved as a baby named George. When a genetic-editing experiment goes wrong, the gas from the experiment turns the friendly ape George into a giant raging monster with other giant creatures emerging and beginning their campaign of rampage across major cities. It is up to Dwayne Johnson's character and a geneticist (Played by Skyfall's Naomie Harris) to help the primatologist search for an antidote. Rampage feels like it borrows from Mighty Joe Young in a sense where Johnson's character shares a human connection with the silver gorilla George, much like Charlize Theron's character Jill shares the same kind of emotional bond with the gorilla Joe, with both stories having the young gorillas being saved by the human characters and looked after by them. The relationship between George and Dwayne Johnson's character is the heart of the film and what gives the film an ounce of heart making story poignant outside of the insane action sequences, that follow once the monsters begin wrecking havoc. The rest of the script plays out much like a generic monster movie with cardboard cutout and cliched villains taking center place with ulterior motives for using the monsters DNA. Despite the endless amounts of cliches the film borrows from other monster movies, it still manages to make them work in a way that makes the story serviceable to the action while being entertaining enough to overcome its glaring flaws.

      Another one of the films strongest points outside of its mayhem is the performances of the main cast with Dwayne Johnson once again putting on his muscular tough guy persona and showcasing his charisma. He makes the character work and his scenes with George, particularly the ones where he tries to keep him out of danger are genuinely touching. Naomie Harris does a solid job playing the geneticist as well as Johnson's characters love interest in the film, making it another area where the film borrows from Mighty Joe Young with the main male and female stars both sharing common ground as well as a mutual attraction to each other with their feelings taking a backseat to taking George's well-being. Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy deliver solid performances as the films main antagonists, CEOs of Energyne, who are responsible for the infection and mutation of animals turned monsters George, Ralph, and Lizzie with the mutagenic serum for the project called Rampage. The characters of Claire and Brett come across as being generic, cardboard villainous characters in a typical Sci-Fi flick, who perform secretive experiments that mess with the mutation of an animals growth with the end result being disastrous. Joe Manganiello, P.J Byrne, and Marley Shelton deliver strong performances with the overall cast being effective and playing their roles to maximum effect for the type of story it is.

      As for the films directing and writing, director Brad Peyton reteams with Dwayne Johnson after their successful collaboration on San Andreas to deliver another action heavy mayhem flick, that serves as a vehicle for The Rock's charisma as an action star along with bringing the popular video game to life. Peyton sets up the first half of the movie establishing the relationship between George and The Rock, making the audience care about their bond while introducing all the side characters with the action taking over in the second half creating a gloriously ridiculous spectacle that's a true delight to watch. Peyton and The Rock know exactly what type of film they want to make here and don't hold back in delivering in the carnage, the humor, and the emotional connection audiences have between Johnson's character and George. Much like San Andreas, Peyton handles this picture by giving it the right sprinkles of action, drama, humor, heart while keeping its main stars front and center (The Rock and George).

      The films visual effects are impressive with all the monsters looking realistic and intense when they begin destroying cities. The films pacing is rapid, keeping the story moving frequently while never feeling boring nor moving too slow. The screenplay by Ryan Engle, Carlton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal, and Adam Sztykiel does its best to offer more than just mindless action given the material its adapting with an ounce of science. Like most action movies, the military and side characters are portrayed as being useless and making the wrong decisions with the main characters having the correct response to handling the situation. While some may find issue with the elaborating of the scientific reasoning behind the animals growing huge in size, others will appreciate that the writers attempted to give some level of depth and intelligence to the plot. Given that the human element of monster movies usually lands on the side of being rather flat, Rampage deserves props for attempting to break the mold and give audiences human characters that are somewhat appealing regardless of how cliched and cheesy they came off as being.

      In the end, Rampage is a film that was designed for one purpose only which is to entertain its audience to the fullest. It was never meant to be taken seriously nor be accurate in its presentation of the science aspect of the story. The scenes with the monsters fighting and destroying cities is the films main highlight with the second half delivering the goods with the first half attempting to develop a plausible storyline with characters the audience can become connected with. The story presented here is straight-forward with the scenario being designed for the monsters to take over. The overall experience is one that is highly enjoyable because the concept is just plain silly yet fun with the cast looking like they enjoyed the experience of making the film. The physics of the movie can come across as being outrageous at times such as the main characters surviving a collapsing building or the biological use of CRISPR, but the audience isn't meant to look deep into those things and just get swept along for the ride. Overall Rampage is terrific fun that should not be dissected nor held under a microscope as it works best as being great fun with intense yet effective music, charismatic leads, a heartfelt relationship between human and non-human, lots of impressive action, solid humor, and characters that are as appealing as its genre allows them to be. The film is nothing more than B- movie cheese that looks great visually and remains a blast from start to finish. If one is looking for intelligent dialogue and science that's fairly accurate with a more complex plot, they should watch Jurassic Park. Rampage was made to entertain and it does a fantastic job at doing so with its breathtaking scenes of urban destruction mixed with The Rock, making the film completely over-the-top but extremely hard to resist.

Final Verdict: If you want brainless, over-the-top action with top notch special effects and Dwayne Johnson as the lead, this movie is for you as it works great as being a traditional monster movie with surprising moments of emotion and heart.