Movie Review: RAMPAGE

Films based on video games have been hit or miss ever since Super Mario Bros. flopped in ’93. We’ve gotten multiple Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil flicks, as well as Assassin’s Creed, DOOM, Warcraft, and Prince of Persia. It’s an adaptation of media that is often judged for missing the mark set by the source material, if not ignoring it all together, and the latest movie to prove this in the best possible way is RAMPAGE.

Now, when I first heard about this, I was really excited: not because I thought it would be a game-changing film (although it did change a LOT from the game, lol) but because I remember how much fun I used to have playing Rampage: World Tour when I was a kid. I used to go over to my friend’s house and play that game all the time, so the idea of seeing Ralph level a skyscraper on the big screen was intriguing.

For anyone outside of the know, Rampage was a game franchise released by Midway that starred three giant monster animals whose sole objective was to destroy the city and anyone trying to stop them. Lizzie the reptile, George the ape, and Ralph the wolf would wreck buildings, tanks, planes, and boats under the attack of the military. If your character can stay alive long enough to destroy the city, you move on to the next one. Oh, and you can eat people too. It started as an arcade game in the eighties, but gained popularity in home gaming consoles with the “tour” line released in 1997 and ’99. It hasn’t been seen since 2006, which is all the more reason I was shocked to see Hollywood move forward with the movie. Could it be successful? Would anyone bother to see it?

Well, the answer is yes, thanks to a complete overhaul of the plotline and an all-star cast headlined by our generation’s biggest action lead, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In the film, experimental pathogen canisters fall to Earth from a space station after an accident involving a mutant rat, each landing in a different part of the United States. An alligator is exposed to its gases in the everglades, as is a wolf in Wyoming and gorilla in a San Diego wildlife preserve. This gorilla is an albino named George who is a funny, intelligent, and protective character under the supervision of primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson). However, once exposed to the growth pathogen, the already large ape sees a significant increase in size and strength, breaking out of his enclosure and killing a grizzly bear. The accident makes national news, catching the attention of Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), a former employee of the developers of the pathogen, Energyne. She tracks Okoye downs and says that she may be able to cure him. Unfortunately, George’s aggression overwhelms him once more and he breaks out of his cell. A military outfit led by Agent Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) puts George and his handlers on a plane to handle the situation.

Meanwhile, Energyne CEO Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) is ironically attempting damage control for her company and decides to emit a radio frequency to draw in the animals effected by her pathogen. In so doing, she can get DNA samples from the mutated wolf (that the military has failed to stop repeatedly) and the gorilla will wreck the plane, killing Dr. Caldwell and all involved parties. Luckily, thanks to the quick thinking of Okoye (who is conveniently also a former special forces soldier), the three main characters parachute away and George crashes with the plane. He survives and joins Ralph to head straight toward Chicago. Okoye and Caldwell are detained, but Agent Russell gives them an escape plan in return for saving his life. The two giant beasts arrive in Chicago and start to rip it up en route to the Energyne headquarters. They are met with extreme military force, which they barrel through. Then, the unknown wildcard Lizzie (alligator) emerges from the river and proves to be larger and more fierce than the other two combined. The three monsters climb up the building to the satellite emitting the signal, where they interrupt a standoff between Wyden and our heroes. Caldwell slips the antidote into Claire’s pocket and George eats her whole. Still large but cured of his unstoppable rage, George teams up with his handler Davis to destroy the other two mutants. (There are several contributing plots like Joe Manganiello’s team versus Ralph, Caldwell’s brother, and the military trying to drop a MOAB on Chicago, but these are all secondary to the main story of the rampaging monsters).

Clearly, the film evolved from a simple smash-em-up video game.

So, now let’s actually get into the wins and losses of this film.

WHAT WORKS: Dwayne Johnson is an amazing actor with his blend of action and comedy that lends itself to a versatile roles. Coming fresh out of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Dwayne once again proves he has star power. The supporting cast is also excellent, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan being a highlight for me. George is a very well-fleshed out character, as you get to see his internal conflict with the changes he is experiencing. He jokes around and has a strong relationship with Davis, but as the fury is unleashed, he fights it. It’s strange to think the “monster” has some of the best character growth in the film, but he does and in the end we get to see the fun-loving, happy George once again.

In relation to that, I was surprised by how much humor and heart were packed into this action movie. The Rock has his funny moments, but he honestly plays the straight man to George who uses sign language in a hilarious fashion. He flips the middle finger with glee and even incorporates another risqué gesture that got a big laugh out of the audience. Claire’s brother Brett (Jake Lacy) also provides some comic relief in the form of a goofy minion role and JD Morgan channels his lovable asshole persona we’ve grown to hate/love on The Walking Dead. As for heart, it’s Caldwell’s character that really brings the touching back story with her motivations with Energyne and wanting to right any wrongs her work has created. We also see George’s tragic past with poachers and Davis’s pain to see George suffer after a hard-fought battle… which is ammo for another comedy gag.

Also, the special effects are incredible. We’ve seen kaiju movies before and giant monsters and the whole schtick, but Rampage one ups the genre, in my opinion. The premise of the movie is that these massive mutant killer animals are going to destroy the city. That’s it. With no other context, you come into this movie expecting some badass scenes of destruction and it definitely delivers. The creatures look terrifying and awesome, and they do indeed go on a rampage: tearing through buildings and snatching aircraft from the sky and stomping through Chicago like there’s no tomorrow. We got explosions too.  So many explosions. Never would I think a basic arcade game like Rampage could be transformed into this crazy fun display of monster mayhem.

Oh, and as a music fan, I have to say Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” was a great choice to be the title track. Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage… perfection.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: There were a lot of little things that I really hated about this movie.

First off, the villains were weak and stupid. Obviously, their creations are the real threat, but the Wylan siblings were just stupid and selfish. I like when my villains are relatable and even likable in their own way, but Claire and Brett are just entitled jerks trying to cover up their mistakes over and over. They justify endangering their family, friends, and entire city (including their own properties) simply to save face. I’m glad they get exactly what they deserve.

Next, while I understand the mutants are practically invulnerable due to their ever-evolving DNA, there is no way Davis Okoye survives this movie. No effing way. The Rock is in a plane crash, gets shot, fights monsters, is in another crash from a collapsing building, and falls from great heights, and STILL has the strength to keep going. I get it, he’s an action hero and all that, but come on! By taking any sort of realistic understanding of human injury out of the picture, Dwayne Johnson is as bulletproof as the giant gator he is fighting. That’s right: it’s not the sci fi craziness that took me out of this film; it was how Davis wasn’t a bloodied corpse midway through the third act.

Speaking of the mutations. I gotta talk about George for a second. So, in addition to growing several stories high, Ralph the wolf also develops quills like a porcupine, gliding flaps like a flying fox, and a scary facelift to seem less wolf-like. Similarly, “Lizzie” takes on some other reptilian and dinosaur attributes to make him (her?) less alligator and more monster. Both work in the context of the movie. But George? He only gets bigger and meaner. He was already albino, so aside from his face taking on a meaner appearance, George is exactly the same after growing many times his original size. This was clearly a case of the developers wanting to keep him a more likable/relatable character while experimenting with the other two. Pandering doesn’t work. Either evolve all three in unique ways or keep them all true to form. A “plain” enraged forty foot wolf could have been just as scary if done well, as would an alligator, but by not giving them equal treatment, I could see right through them. And besides, if Harambe was any indicator, you know the military wouldn’t have backed down from George just because he was “cured”. He woulda been slaughtered.

Last point: a ton of little plot holes and extraneous information were included to make this story less streamlined. I appreciate trying to flesh out a movie, but I had trouble enjoying certain parts because I was questioning their need/relevance to the actual story.

FINAL VERDICT: The reception was mixed bag across the board, with some audiences loving it and others hating it. This is proven by the fact I really enjoyed the movie and my wife didn’t. Despite this, it has done relatively well in the box office, making over $150 million on opening weekend.

Personally, I found this movie to be extremely entertaining, taking some of the funnest parts from the game and crafting a whole movie around it. Tons of action and humor, great acting, mass destruction… it’s everything you could want out of a blockbuster hit movie. But with that, comes the same downfall as similar movies like Transformers: weak plot points, differing from source material, and inconsistencies. I don’t think this was a bad movie, but it did suffer from some of the telltale signs. It was redeemed by the performances of Johnson and Morgan, as well as George the gorilla, not to mention so of the most incredible monster moments I’ve ever seen on film. Distributed by Warner Brothers and directed by Brad Peyton, RAMPAGE is a thrill ride that will be regarded as one of the more successful video game adaptations. 3.5 out of 5 Stars!

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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Author Profile

Robert Anderegg

Robert joined Comic Crusaders in 2016 as contributor, but has been an active online voice through social media for almost ten years. His hobbies include reading and collecting comics, attending theme parks, making music, and driving his wife insane. Deadpool and Nightcrawler are his two favorite superheroes, and while his preference is Marvel, he dabbles in every major and indie label in the comics community. He graduated from UTPB in 2013 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is currently seeking employment in that field. A southern boy at heart, he currently resides in the Midwest.

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