RAMPAGE REVIEW:”gives you exactly what it’s selling, even if the trailers seem to concen

You know what might make an intriguing movie?

The story of how, over 30 years after its debut, a simple and well-loved (maybe, forgotten) arcade game starring a giant ape and other oversize beasts underwent a corporate transmogrification and became a fun, if not intelligent sci-fi/action blockbuster.

Inspired by the classic arcade game of the same name, Rampage is utterly ridiculous, campy, yet… kinda dumb fun. It’s exactly the mindless, pop-corn, frenzied romp of a saga it’s been sold as, with star Dwayne Johnson trying to carry the whole thing on his charm and his bulging biceps.

But even The Rock can only do so much when a movie’s this absurd.

“Rampage” opens by establishing its ridiculous tone early. A scientist on a space station is struggling to save some genetically engineered samples from, well, a … giant rat!

And after the awful “genetic editing” formula is accidentally unleashed from the space station’s escape shuttle, three wild animals are transformed into giant mutants who go on a, yes, rampage.

It’s then up to ape whisperer Davis Okoye (Johnson) to save his animal buddy, the city of Chicago, and the day… again!

Dwayne Johnson anchors the film with his mix of humor, machismo, and heart. His character is a ludicrously over-credentialed badass: a former special forces soldier-turned-anti-poaching operative turned primatologist. Davis can handle guns, apes, helicopters (lot’s of em just abandoned throughout the film!), sleeper holds, sign language — you name it.

Because he’s The Rock so of course he bloody can. Johnson clearly knows the film is over -the- top, and that’s the point.

He owns it, lending the proceedings some tiny dose of emotional sincerity.

The bond between George the albino ape and Davis is the heart of the film. It’s all very sweet, but George is already intelligent and emotional before his accidental transformation. This makes his evolution that befalls the wolf and the crocodile less creditable.

But, George ultimately seems more human than most of the human characters in Rampage, which is probably the point but it doesn’t do much to convince you the movie needed most of them anyway.

The script is ladened with some hilariously but cringe-worthy dialogue, especially when it comes to all the pseudo-science involved in turning everyday animals into giant monsters.

This thankless task is mostly left to Naomie Harris to deliver. The Oscar nominee’s very presence classes up her stock character, Dr. Kate Caldwell. From points of view, she’s the gormless scientist whose cooked up the shambolic formula in the first place, (not knowingly from behind her back, her work is being used in the weapons industry, and when she goes to destroy her work) she’s been fired from her job!

In addition to Naomie Harris, the cast also includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who is essentially playing “Agent Negan”.

Morgan delivers all his lines with the exact same cadence, drawl, and swagger as his Walking Dead villain except Agent Harvey Russell is not as much of a bad guy. He is quite likeable, if not from the start.

The mutated animals are soon making a beeline for Chicago, whence the bad guys are summoning the creatures. (They have also been genetically programmed to respond to a particular radio signal.) The rather dim villains, Claire and Brett, are a sister and brother team played by Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy. At one point Claire says: “Lucky for us our building has some of the most powerful radio antennae on the face of the earth.”

These fantastic beasts are the highlight. Rendered with staggering detail and heft by the wizards at Weta They are all fine save for the wolf, who is definitely the weakest link of the three giant (flying) monsters.

While George looks real and the crocodile is scary, the wolf always looks CG-animated, never quite capturing the photorealism or detail of either of the other two main beasts.

But George is a different beast entirely. Like Peter Jackson’s Kong and Caesar before him, there’s a soul behind those CG eyes. And the film effectively establishes the bond between Davis and his simian friend in the opening scenes.

Once Rampage gets going it moves at a breezy clip, and, save for a drag of mid-film exposition, doesn’t let up.

That’s for the better, because there’s little in the way of twists or turns for the actual story of Rampage; it’s all about the final payoff.

It’s not whether Chicago, the scene of the film’s biggest set piece, will be destroyed — but just how extravagantly it will be destroyed.

VERDICT: The movie’s opening scene, which is also the best action set piece in this Brad Peyton-directed picture, depicts the lone survivor of a space station catastrophe trying to return to Earth with her scientific samples intact.

But…

It’s a fun filled film, kinda like fast food dining; You know you’re going enjoy it at the time, but… maybe regret it later during the evening!

Rampage doesn’t really offer much of anything new as a giant monster movie, a video game adaptation, or a Dwayne Johnson vehicle, but it still checks all the boxes expected from it, offering enough entertainment value to not make you completely hate it.

It will never be mistaken for a good movie (see San Andreas), but that it could have been so much worse. But, Brad Peyton use of increasingly over-the-top action set-pieces, Rampage isn’t the film that will save video game movies – let alone have people start taking them seriously!

But Rampage is also exactly what it sold itself as: a big, silly, loud, dumb piece of escapism and you’ll (your little ones too) will love it.

And it’s got the Rock.

Enjoy the ride.

3.5/5 stars