Way back in 1986, a popular video game by the title of Rampage was released in the arcade, before being ported to various other formats. Featuring three humongous but distinct monstrosities tearing a city to shreds, it had a unique original spin at the time. Taking that same premise, we now have ourselves a movie which borrows those key major elements and brings them kicking and screaming onto the big screen. But, given the well documented “game-to-movie” curse as well as its paper thin plot, can Rampage rise above it's debatable roots to provide us with a winning formula?
An orbital space station, owned by company Energyne and acting as a research centre for gene manipulation and testing, explodes due to certain events taking place on-board. The debris comes raining down upon Earth, together with the toxic pathogen. A wolf residing in an American woodland is first to be exposed to it’s disastrous gases, followed by a crocodile down in the swamp waters of the Everglades. A third animal also comes into contact with the pathogen. A rare albino gorilla by the name of George, whose life was saved from a group of poachers and is now kept at the San Diego zoo under the dutiful watch of primatologist David Okoye (played by Dwayne Johnson). A day later and the trio of infected animals physically grow to epic proportions. Meanwhile, Energyne CEO Claire Wyden (played by Malin Akerman) issues an order to retrieve the remnant canisters for continued research purposes. However, when her plan goes awry, she finds a way to lure the monsters all to the same location with the hopes of capturing the beasts. Hence, we have the general synopsis for our movie.
When you are dealing with a movie called Rampage whilst also acknowledging it’s video gaming roots, there should be no surprises as what to expect here on the big screen. Throw Dwayne Johnson into the mix and the type of movie we are dealing with, becomes even more evident. A straight-up, popcorn, no-frills actioner. The flimsy story-line is a joke, at best. The characters are typical cardboard cut-out caricatures of these kinds of film. Generic and one-sided, the villains prove to be the worst of a bad bunch. Exaggerating their evil personas as well as making ridiculously stupid decisions to further the plot devices of the film, it's safe to say there won’t be any Oscar nominations with this one, I can promise you. Even Dwayne Johnson, as likeable as he is, has turned into a sort of stereotype for movies of this nature. The raised eyebrow, escaping from impossible situations and conjuring up spur-of-the-moment decision making to perfection. It’s all the stuff we already know (and love, in some cases) and Rampage implements this tried-and-tested formula with aplomb. But what of the main stars of this movie? The real reason why audiences will, inevitably, flock to see it? What of the mutated animals themselves?
Well, it does deliver. To a certain degree. If a big old monster mash is what you’re looking for, (and what else would you be looking for?) then we could get away with snoozing until the final 20 minutes of the movie. That’s where the big payoff lies. And thrilling and enjoyable, it certainly is. But everything in-between takes a while to get going, given the fact that the creatures don’t actually meet until deep into the movie. The action sequences preceding that aforementioned final segment, are sparse, yet still adequate. Audiences will get the feeling that we’ve seen this all before, albeit in a different setting and with slightly tweaked monsters. Not to say it’s all bad. The special effects I thought, were pretty solid. And when the action hit home, this movie was in it’s element. But the road there is a tough one, especially considering the quality of bad acting we have to endure along the way. Someone, press the fast forward button, why don’t you!
All in all, Rampage is okayish. Verging more toward the bad than good, if I'm totally honest. The pulse-pounding monster brawl at the end, kind of makes up for it. But I feel most will be half asleep by the time we get there. The “game-to-movie” curse continues, but not to the depths of horror where some previous entries have gone. Maybe this one is worth waiting for on rental, otherwise, if you’re really pushed to watch “something” at the cinema, this one barely makes the grade.
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