Do you like noisy, over-the-top, CGI-saturated action? Do you like a coherent and semi-realistic backstory? Do you like outlandish secondary characters and one-dimensional villains paired with a charismatic, muscle-bound male lead? What about albino gorillas making inappropriate hand gestures? If so, then “Rampage” is the movie for you!
“Rampage” is exactly the movie you think it is -- it’s a big, dumb action movie that’s not quite as dumb as you’re expecting. The movie actually manages to remain relatively realistic until to blatantly over-the-top final act that achieves “Man of Steel” levels of senseless destruction. It felt like the filmmakers got to the last 25 minutes and said “Do we really have to continue having semi-logical explanations for everything?? I mean, I know it’s a good idea and all, but…well, monsters.”
What You’re Gonna Like
Beastly Bromance - Yes, the relationship between The Rock and a CGI gorilla is one of the best parts of the movie. The film does a great job of establishing the bond between George and his caretaker Davis Okoye (The Rock’s character) and the bond is not only believable, but genuinely heartfelt. It was enough to make me legitimately empathize with the two protagonists through all their various ups and downs in the film.
The Rock Rocks - Dwayne Johnson is his usual funny, charming, alpha male lead. It’s the same role he plays in most of his films, and he nails it with his typical swagger, gusto, and one-liners.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Morgan’s Agent Russell is basically a knock-off of every lawman role Tommy Lee Jones has ever played (think “The Hunted,” “No Country for Old Men,” and “The Fugitive”). Morgan plays it way over-the-top as a grisled, drawling, pistol toting, cliche-spitting, cowboy who’s seen it all (or so he thinks). The character mostly works as his cloak-and-dagger heroics are a nice balance to Johnson’s alpha action hero.
What You Might Not Like
Bad Bad Guys - The brother and sister duo of Claire & Brett Wyden were fine as long as Malin Ackerman’s “Claire” is doing all the talking. Jake Lacy’s “Brett” is a spineless wuss that loves money but doesn’t want to do anything to get his hands dirty. His sister is a cold-blooded mastermind who will do anything to save both their skin and their bottom line. Both characters are meant to be over-the-top, but Lacy’s “Brett” is so blatantly over-acted it’s cringeworthy. And it’s not even the laughable, “so bad, it’s good” kind of cringeworthy. Brett is the kind of character you’re hoping will die the very first time he shows up on screen. The Wyden’s motivations are pretty basic, and they don’t really do or say much that is interesting or noteworthy for most of the movie.
Blood & Guts - This movie had a little more blood and gore than I was expecting. It’s not anything crazy, just a bit more than you might think. You see severed body parts floating around a spaceship, soldiers getting bitten in half and mauled by one of the creatures, a pile of bisected corpses, and generally just a tad more guts and gore than advertised.
Pushed Back Payoff - The movie takes a long time to get to the climatic battle in downtown Chicago. It never really drags, but if the action is all you really care about, it’s a pretty long wait to get the payoff of seeing buildings smashed and Dwayne Johnson standing his ground against giant mutant monsters.
Movie Rating
Plot - 7.5/10 - It’s solid through ¾ of the film, but goes a bit off the rails in the final act.
Characters - 6.5/10 - The movie loses 0.5 for the Brett Wyden character. Just awful.
Music/Score - N/A
Emotion - 3.5/7.5 -- The most heartfelt scenes all involve interactions between Okoye and George. George is a CGI ape. Need I say more?
Dialogue - 4.8/7.5 - It’s cheesy, but at an acceptable level. I could’ve done with less talking from Jake Lacy and 3-4 more zingers from Dwayne Johnson.
Visuals - 6.2/7.5 - The high score is because of how incredibly George is rendered. The wolf...not so much. But the wolf’s debut in the forest has some awesome shots also.
Originality - 3/5 - There isn’t much that will ever be original about monsters destroying cities, but “Rampage” at least takes a different route to get there and ends up being slightly less predictable than you’d expect.
“IT” Factor - 6/10 - No matter how you slice it, this feels like a "C" movie. Not even the presence of the Rock can overshadow the strong notion that you're watching a second-rate action film. It also doesn't help that this movie is competing with a similar B-level action movies with superior sequences like "Pacific Rim: Uprising.”
Final Score: 37.5/60 = 63% (F+)
Summary: Despite the low grade, I actually enjoyed “Rampage,” and it lands on the higher side of what you’d expect from this type of movie. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but respects you enough to at least TRY to be coherent in how it reaches its blockbustery mayhem. It a nice, entertaining-but-forgettable popcorn flick, and you’ll enjoy it as long as you hold it to that low standard.
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