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In the mid-‘80s, kids could shell out their quarters at the arcade at the mall to play the video game Rampage, which followed the adventures of three humans-turned-monsters who then attacked the city and everything in their path. Now Dwayne Johnson tries to stop a trio of genetically-modified beasts in the game’s big-screen adaptation.
Rampage tries to save the world from monstrous devastation after the debris from a secret genetic experiment gone wrong turns three different animals into genetically modified monsters. Primatologist Davis (Johnson) just wants to save his friend, a lovable albino gorilla named George, who’s growing bigger and more violent by the minute. Davis is joined by Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), a scientist who worked on the experiment. And, together, they set out to find George and stop him and the other two monsters before they can be used to create even more destruction.
When it comes to action heroes, they don’t get much more lovable than Dwayne Johnson. When he stars in a movie, you know exactly what to expect—because he’s always tough and silly and just plain fun to watch. But no matter how big his biceps—or his cheesy grin—may be, he just can’t save this monstrous mess.
From the boilerplate setup to the corny dialogue to the multitude of holes and inconsistencies, the writing is shamefully lazy. Granted, the film is based on a video game from the ‘80s, so the laughable action and lack of a solid plot are somewhat understandable. But it’s really too bad that the writing team couldn’t come up with a story that makes just a little more sense. The plot is minimal, and the characters are ridiculous—from sinister villain Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) and her bumbling brother and business partner, Brett (Jake Lacy), to Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Agent Russell, who seems to have accidentally stumbled in off the set of a kooky Western parody. Even Johnson struggles—because, other than a few moments of bicep-flexing action and some cute scenes with his lovable gorilla buddy, he doesn’t get a whole lot to work with.
Of course, if you’re just really in the mood for a whole lot of gigantic monster action, you’ll find plenty of that here as the trio of genetically modified beasts converges on Chicago and spends much of the film wreaking havoc. But it all just feels like a cheesy late-night B-movie.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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