RAMPAGE – A Review by Cynthia Flores
The heart of this movie beats in the CG chest of George (Jason Liles), the extraordinarily intelligent albino gorilla that was rescued by primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) after the slaughtering of his family when he was just a baby gorilla. Davis brought him to live and thrive in the gorilla habitat at the San Diego Zoo. Davis taught him sign language and the two have a strong and believable bond. That's pretty good thing because there's a lot of unbelievable things that happen in this action film very loosely based on the hit 1986 video arcade game of the same name. In the mythology of the video game, the creatures themselves aren't actually animals, they are humans. They mutate into their alternate forms of George the gorilla, Lizzy the lizard, and Ralph the wolf when a lab experiment goes wrong and they grow to epic size and stature. The movie didn’t decide to go this route. Instead, because of a rogue genetic experiment done by the Wyden Corporation gone awry, George, a wolf in the wild, and an alligator from the swamps of Florida have all been transformed into raging giant monsters. All of them are being genetically driven to seek out a beacon on the top of a building in downtown Chicago.
As these creatures tear across the country to get to Chicago, they are destroying everything in their path. Davis teams up with discredited genetic engineer, Dr. Kate Caldwell, to secure the antidote that she knows must exist at the Wyden headquarters.
They both get some surprising help from special agent Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who tells Army Colonel Blake (Demetrius Grosse) that weapons alone will not work against these beasts.
In the end, Davis has to fight his way through a constantly changing battlefield on the devastated city streets. He’s up against the clock as the army moves in to drop a MOB bomb on the creatures. Will Davis save the day and his best friend George? Well, you’ll just have to go see this film to find out.
Rampage is a fun, fast moving action film with a heart. Dwayne Johnson is fun to watch in just about anything. It’s the perfect popcorn movie to start the spring season off with a bang. I saw it in IMAX and enjoyed this action packed film.
I give it a solid B+ rating and hope you’ll go see it on the big screen like it was meant to be experienced.
Directed by Brad Peyton
Written By Ryan Engle, Carlton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal, Adam Sztykiel
Rated PG-13
Selig Rating B+
Running Time 1hr 47min
Action/ Sci-Fi
Wide Release April 13th
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jason Liles
Movie Site: www.rampagethemovie.com
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn't paid for it.
