I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Rampage, the latest popcorn flick starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I initially didn’t have high hopes for it because…well, because it starred Dwayne Johnson, a Hollywood star whose films are usually big on the spectacle but short on brains. Rampage begins in familiar territory for those who have seen the recent Life, starring Ryan Reynolds: aboard a rapidly deteriorating space station, with Marley Shelton doing a superb job playing a member of the crew who is forced to rescue several of the research specimens before she’s even allowed to get on the life pod by her callous unseen bosses.
Unfortunately Shelton’s character doesn’t survive, but the specimens that she got aboard the life pod wind up being scattered all over North America when her life pod explodes upon reentry into earth’s atmosphere. One of the specimen containers lands in the gorilla pen of the San Diego Zoo, where George, an albino gorilla that’s been raised by Davis Okoye (Johnson), immediately begins growing larger than his usual size. He’s also acting far more aggressively than usual. A wolf in Montana is exposed to another specimen container and also grows impossibly large, easily taking down a team of mercenaries sent by the film’s villains, a wealthy sister and brother played by Malin Akerman (Watchmen) and Jake Lacey.
These villains are not only devious, but they’re very shrewd and underhanded, managing to come out on top no matter what situation they find themselves in. Akerman is particularly good as a cold-hearted oligarch who’s always calculating the best outcome for herself and her brother, even when they’re being investigated by the FBI. Rampage proves itself to be slightly smarter than the usual popcorn flick by not being afraid to up the ante in its storytelling and then giving the viewer a further surprise--with a proper twist that makes sense--in how it all plays out.
Johnson also wisely surrounds himself with a great cast, which includes Naomie Harris (Moonlight, the recent James Bond films), Jeffery Dean Morgan (Watchmen, The Walking Dead), and Joe Manganiello (True Blood), whose combined talents easily sell the ’big monster’ story. Rampage basically turns into a Godzilla movie when all three of the overgrown animals (a large sized crocodile joins in on the fun late in the film) converge on Chicago--and the end result is a spectacular display of combat and large scale destruction that’s very well rendered. I haven’t played the video game that Rampage is based on, but the film stands on its own as a fun thrill ride that doesn’t slight its story. --SF
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