Review of Rampage (2018) by Razman R — 27 Apr 2018

As a young fella I had this affinity with the male silverback Gorilla.

It's strength, muscular size and sheer presence always fascinated me.

I remember back in Grade 5 my teacher, Mrs Fletcher, gave me 10/10 for a project I did on Gorillas.

Obviously, any movie with gorillas in it like King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Gorillas in the Mist, etc were a definite must see in my book.

I also really enjoyed watching documentaries, particularly those produced my Sir David Attenborough. And as such, also had an avid interest in other powerful creatures such as the Wolf and Crocodile.

So you can imagine my curiosity when I heard that the movie "Rampage" had all 3 animals in it, all of which were giant in size!!

The Canadian film producer, Brad Peyton, who successfully put together "San Andreas" and those "Journey" movies, was the brains behind "Rampage" and modelled on the video game by the same name.

Now, normally anything to do with video gaming simply bores me senseless, so it was with some intrepidation that I decided to give this flick the benefit of the doubt.

The basic premise in this film is that a genetically engineered program called CRISPR, orchestrated by a ruthless and rogue billionaire brother and sister, Claire and Brett Wyden, was designed to create genetic modifications and thus superior beings.

Claire Wyden was very successfully portrayed by Malin Akerman, who gave this role a nasty Cruella Deville kind of flavour. Jake Lacy, ably played the part of her insipid, weak and nerdy brother, Brett.

The program was in its infancy when 3 animals accidentally got exposed to the active chemical ingredient, so now enter the giant gorilla, wolf and Croc!!!

The Gorilla, at the time of exposure, was captive at the San Diego Zoo under the watchful eye of Davis Okoye, a former military expert, but now a Primatologist!

Davis was portrayed by none other than the big fella himself, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Who was also the lead actor in the previously mentioned Brad Peyton movies. The Rock, as always, doesn't disappoint here with his great combination of mad muscle, wicked wrestling manoeuvres, machismo overload and cheeseball one liners.

And these one liners came thick and fast as the movie picked up pace! The one liners were, however, all very funny and would definitely get the Arnold Schwartznegger and Clint Eastwood seal of approval!!

The obligatory potential love interest for The Rock's part was played by English actress Naomie Harris, who became the new 'Miss Moneypenny' from "Skyfall" and "Spectre" fame. Naomie also did a good job as former genetic modification scientist, Dr Kate Caldwell.

The FBI, as with any secret scientific project, also got a guernsey in "Rampage". Enter the The Rock's alpha-macho-man competition in the cowboy-like Texan head of the investigative task force Agent Russell, portrayed by the "Walking Dead's" Negan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

I haven't really ever seen much of Jeffrey, but suffice to say he bounced well of Big Dwayne with equally corny one liners and a level of toughness that would have made his Hormone Replacement therapist proud!!

IMHO, the 3 best actors in this movie, however, were created by the CGI geeks in George the gorilla, the wolf and the crocodile! And with that, let me say the CGI quality and clarity in Brad Peyton's movie were absolutely sensational. The fight scenes with the giant creatures, the military intervention, the resulting cataclysmic calamity in Chicago and graphic gore were all a spectacle to behold!!

"Rampage" was an hour and forty minutes of entertainment and edge of the seat action. And, without giving too much away, the finale was a ripper that the general consumer always hopes for, and, just quietly, is entitled to!! Even the very last scene was both hilarious and a fitting way to conclude an afternoon of exciting escapism!!

CW's rating this time around...

4.5 stars out of 5 ??????????