REVIEW: Rampage Is A Mindless Fun Ride
Rampage is the mindless entertainment you’ve been waiting for! Based on the classic video game, Rampage is the story of primatologist Davis Okoye (played by Dwayne Johnson) and his gorilla, George, who becomes infected with a genetic editing serum.
The serum causes George and other wild animals to grow at alarmingly fast rates with increased strength and more aggressive tendencies. To help his friend, Davis teams with former genetic engineer Kate Caldwell (Naomi Harris) and a government agent with cowboy inclinations (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to locate the antidote to the serum.
George the gorilla and a genetically modified wolf and alligator head to Chicago to wreak havoc under the instruction of evil brother/sister duo, Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy. The pair run a research lab recently under fire for their questionable experiment techniques. Combine all of this together and you have the ingredients for one campy, ridiculously entertaining movie.
Director Brad Peyton keeps the pace quick, which works out in the film’s favor as there isn’t a moment to stop and wonder why this is all happening. The CGI in the action sequences is not where it could have been and often it felt as though scenes were taken directly out of the video game. However, the action moves well enough along to create some moments of surprise.
The cast keeps the film from being the mess it at times wants to be. The dialogue is ridiculous overall but the jokes, for the most part, land. The furious action sequences combined with fairly funny quips keep the flick moving forward. Johnson is incredibly charming by nature and brings that to this film and Morgan leans way in to the cowboy side of his character which prevents him from being a major annoyance. Akerman and Lacy as the evil genius and bumbling sidekick, respectively, do just enough to not be ignored and Harris does well to keep pace with Johnson.
If you’re looking for backstory and character growth, this is not the film for you. But if you want a film that will entertain and distract you from the world for two hours, this is your ticket. Dwayne Johnson recently told Rolling Stone he wanted audiences to feel great after seeing his films, that life gives already them enough crap to deal with and he fulfills that goal with Rampage.
Grade: B