Who would have thought several years back that one of the
top box office draws when it comes to action flicks would be a WWE wrestler? I
mean we had one ex-wrestler become a box office draw in Hulk Hogan but that was
short lived. So maybe the reason this time around is different is a combination
of charisma, self-deprecating humor, a great attitude and an ability to
actually act. Yes, I’m talking about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He’s since
dropped the Rock tag an appropriately so. He’s proven himself beyond that and
soared to far greater heights than those days in the ring. He’s an honest to
goodness movie star now and should be graded on that alone.
Which brings me to this week’s latest Johnson movie to make
its way to DVD, RAMPAGE. Based on the arcade game that those of us who grew up
when people actually visited arcades rather than play games at home, the game
then involved giant animals breaking buildings and eating people. This movie
has that but at least it forms a story first.
Johnson plays Davis Okoye, a primatologist working at the
San Diego Zoo. Not only has Davis worked with the large apes he’s made friends
with the zoo’s star attraction, an albino gorilla named George. Using sign
language the two communicate easily. And George often displays his wicked sense
of humor at the expense of Davis.
The film opens though with a space station carrying
specimens that plummet to Earth after the station explodes. Those specimens
later land in various locations, one in the mountains, one in the Everglades
and the final one in the pen George and the gorillas are kept in. The mountain
landing infects a wolf, the Everglades an alligator and tine final one George.
Each of the animals begin to change after their exposure.
The specimens were being tested in outer space to avoid
legal actions by Energyne, a genetics corporation more concerned with their
bottom line than the safety of those who were on the space station or pretty
much anyone else on Earth. When the animals begin showing up, their desire is
to capture them using a radio signal that will draw them to their location in
Chicago.
Unfortunately the genetic mutations the animals are going
through also leaves them more agitated than normal and George soon breaks out of
his cage and runs amok through the zoo before being taken down by a team that
arrives with tranquilizers. This is a secret government organization run by
agent Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who takes not just George but Davis and Dr.
Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), an ex-employee of Energyne and geneticists who
wants to help with the animals.
Of course as things pan out in the movies George escapes
making his way to Chicago and the other two animals head that direction as
well. The end result of their call there is the classic game coming true as
they begin destroying buildings left and right, terrorizing anyone in their
path and facing off against the US military. Only Davis and Kate have a
solution but will they be able to carry it out in time?
The movie relies heavily on three things, the first of which
is a heavy duty dose of suspending reality. This would include everything from
the buddy relationship between George and Davis to the monstrous sized animals
on hand. The second is the constant battering that a character like Davis takes
without slowing down at any point. Short of Superman no one is that impervious
to injury and pain. Lastly the special effects on display here are what drive
most of the story. And they are amazing to see as the monsters rise up from
regular size to huge altering along the way. The destruction that follows in
their wake is also special effects at their best.
The movie wouldn’t work if you didn’t have that human
element there, that bond between Davis and George that makes the ape such a
sympathetic character. The changes are not something he wants or has any idea
of how to deal with. And whether or not the changes can be reversed is also up
in the air as he heads toward Chicago. As viewers we feel for the ape and for
Davis who might be faced with no other option than to take down the friend he
made in George.
The movie is pure popcorn fun and better than I expected.
Hollywood has a history of messing up movies based on video games. They’ve done
this one right though and the odds are that you’ll have a blast watching this
one. A movie the whole family can watch with a few minor items (like a single
finger communication). This is one of those movies I think I could easily watch
more than once.
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