These days, Dwayne Johnson is the one of the most bankable box office stars in the game. Having warmly embraced the action genre in a way rarely seen since the ‘80s heyday of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis et al, here the former WWE Champion headlines a loose adaptation of classic video game Rampage, but – much like Johnson’s Doom feature of yesteryear – is this yet another disappointing effort that is simply relying on an existing property’s name value, or is this an all-out, balls-out classic actioner?
The plot of Brad Peyton’s Rampage pulls from its source material in a very liberal sense, taking the basic fundamentals of giant creatures but putting a more suitable-for-cinematic lick of paint on proceedings. Johnson plays primatologist Davis Okoye, a former Special Forces soldier who is jilted towards mankind and who gets far more comfort in spending his time with animals – in particular his albino gorilla buddy George. But when the aftermath of an ill-fated experiment increases George’s size, strength and aggression, Davis is tasked with stopping his bestest bud from causing chaos and carnage, while simultaneously trying to get to George before the military can deal with the gorilla in their own clinical way. And that’s not all, for a similarly-enhanced wolf is just another part of the problem, not to mention A.N. Other crazed creature that lurks just around the corner.
Joining Johnson here, Naomie Harris plays a disgraced scientist desperate to help in whatever way she can, as a nefarious organization headed up by Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy look to weaponise these animals and more for their own twisted gain. Then, in the middle of this, we also have Jeffrey Dean Morgan putting in a shift as a Negan-lite agent caught up in both sides of this ongoing destruction derby. Harris is great at bringing some seriousness to the picture, while Akerman and Lacy take great pleasure in yucking it up as the bad guys of the piece. As for Morgan, he’s as charismatic and effective as ever, even if he feels like he’s pulling maybe a little too much from his turn as The Walking Dead’s Negan here.
Of course, this is very much Dwayne Johnson’s movie, with him ticking every box you’d imagine from him and from such a film. Johnson is at his charming best, muscles a-rippling, one-liners at the ready, and his best gun-shooting-face fully grimaced and about to be unloaded. But while the Great One is the headline name strewn across Rampage’s promo material, special praise must go to the team at Weta Digital for their astonishing SFX work on the creatures unwillingly part of some misjudged experiment. All three of the animals – yes, three… – look absolutely jaw-dropping, and it’s the brilliant chemistry by Johnson and George that often steals the show. To be fair to the People’s Champ, Dwayne Johnson seems to be able to strike up insta-likeable chemistry with any and everyone he stars with, and here the Jumanji star goes one better and bounces wonderfully off a CGI gorilla.
If you’re looking for a modern-day action movie that stands out above the dross so often associated with that genre these days, look no further than Rampage. All-out destruction? Check. Muscles, guns, and explosions? Check. Slimy villains? Check. Cheesy dialogue? Check. Giant-ass monsters? Triple check! Most of all, though, there’s genuine heart drenched throughout Rampage. This is one action movie that you don’t want to pass on, and Dwayne Johnson again proves why he really is the go-to guy in Hollywood right now. And yes, finally we can now let that god-awful Doom adaptation slide.
In terms of bonus material, it’s pretty standard affair with this release. All of the extra content is decent yet run-of-the-mill, although the Not a Game Anymore featurette is sure to have longtime fans of the Rampage video game franchise grinning from ear-to-ear.
Special Features: Five featurettes / Gag reel / Deleted scenes
RAMPAGE / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: BRAD PEYTON / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: DWAYNE JOHNSON, NAOMIE HARRIS, JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, MALIN AKERMAN, JAKE LACY, JOE MANGANIELLO / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 20TH
