RAMPAGE – Review

A boneheaded orgy of computer-generated destruction, RAMPAGE delivers big fun movie monsters, but it’s about as underdeveloped as assembly-line filmmaking can get. Dwayne Johnson stars as Davis Okoye, a primatologist at the San Diego Animal Sanctuary. His best friend there is George, an albino gorilla who he saved as a pup after poachers slaughtered his family. A space station has fallen from the sky that contained vials of an experimental substance that rapidly evolves the DNA of whoever comes in contact with it, causing the host to increase in size and aggression. George, a wolf, and an alligator have inhaled the chemical and set out to destroy Chicago unless Davis and Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), a disgraced genetic scientist, can get there with an antidote in time.

RAMPAGE is not a movie so much as an amusement-park ride without the park, though there may be just enough amusement for audiences to have a good time. It’s a goofy-weird mishmash of some pretty swell CGI creatures and downright lousy screenwriting. The film works best when it focuses on the visuals, such as in an early forest showdown between the wolf and some heavily-armed soldiers, a scene that recalls the intensity of KONG SKULL ISLAND. With the destructive powers of the CGI gods at his disposal, director Brad Peyton (Johnson’s go-to green-screen guy, having served similar duty with SAN ANDREAS and JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND) conjures up a couple of exciting set pieces, notably a wild one involving a battle between giant George and an armed team that takes place inside an out-of-control airplane hurtling toward the ground. The final thirty minutes is an epic-scale WWE-style monster rally that destroys much of downtown Chicago and is directed with the same sort of panache and disaster-porn glee we haven’t seen since PACIFIC RIM UPSRISING last month!

RAMPAGE is campy but never quite campy enough and far too artificial to ever drum up any real suspense or sense of awe, nor do we at any time fear for anyone’s safety. The special effects are state-of-the-art, but unfortunately there’s no way (as of yet) to computer-generate character development or sharp writing. Despite Dwayne Johnson’s undeniable charisma, he’s saddled with some real groaners here such as “Let’s kick some ass!”, “We gotta get that antidote!”, and my favorite: “I’m gonna choke you out so bad you’re gonna urinate yourself”. The best exchanges in the film are between Davis and George and the way they communicate, often in sign language, provide moments of wit and warmth (George, an obvious fan of the Korean giant monster classic A*P*E., flips the bird….twice!). A stronger supporting cast may have helped. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, one-note as Davis’ adversary-turned-ally, swaggers about with his pearl-handled pistol (which he never uses), portraying the same tiresome cocky cowboy he always does while Malin Ackerman and Jake Lacy play buffoonish cartoon villains even less threatening than Charlie Day in PACIFIC RIM UPSRISING. Despite its flaws, I still recommend RAMPAGE as fun, harmless escapism. You don’t get the impression that anyone really knocked themselves out trying to make a great movie, but it doesn’t, despite being based on a video game, reek of shameless cash-grabbing either. A big ol’ shrug of the shoulders and a tepid thumbs up is what RAMPAGE gets from me.

3 of 5 Stars