Rampage

You know we are embarking upon the summer film season when we start seeing big-budget, explosive, high adrenaline movies being released at the multiplex. When I saw my first trailer of "Rampage", I thought it was going to be one of those cheesy, poorly made highly predictable films. Although it was a bit predictable, the action coupled with the heart of it more than made up for its predictability.

 

Primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) shares an unshakable bond with George, an extraordinarily intelligent silverback gorilla that's been in his care since birth. When a rogue experiment goes awry, it causes George, a wolf and a reptile to grow to a monstrous size. As the mutated beasts embark on a path of destruction, Okoye teams up with a discredited genetics engineer, Dr. Kate Cailwell (Naomie Harris), a military consultant, Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the military to secure an antidote and prevent a global catastrophe, while also attempting to save George that was once Okoye's friend.

 

Others to round out the cast are Malin Ackerman as Claire Wyden, Jake Lacy as Brett Wyden, Joe Manganiello as Burke, Marley Shelton as Dr. Kerry Atkins, P.J. Byrne as Nelson, Demetrius Grosse as Colonel Blake, Jack Quaid as Connor, Breanne Hill as Amy, Matt Gerald as Zammit, Will Yun Lee as Agent Park, Urijah Faber as Garrick and Bruce Blackshear as Taylor.

 

This was directed with high energy by Brad Peyton ("Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" '10, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" '12, "San Andreas" '15, "Incarnate" '16) plus shorts and TV. This filmmaker is no stranger to action, big-budget films, hence his resume, and since he directed "San Andreas", he was a shoe-in to direct it having the same feel and the same star--Johnson. In fact, Peyton is slated to direct "San Andreas 2" which has been announced. It was intensely written by Ryan Engle, Carlton Cuse (who also wrote "San Andreas") Ryan J. Condal and Adam Sztykiel based on a story by Engle. Considering all these writers either have little to substantial experience on board before this, this script could have been a bit more polished. While it was gripping and definitely kept you on the edge of your seat, it jumped around too much where it kind of got bogged down. What truly makes this more than just another 'disaster flick' is that it has heart. Both Davis (Johnson) and George have a tremendous bond where when something happens to one of them, it tugs at your heartstring, making it an action film with heart. And what can I say about the visual effects? Obviously, knowing these effects, created by Weta Digital, Scanline and Hy*drau"lx,  would be good before one would walk into the theater, they actually enhanced this storyline.

 

Certainly this is the quintessential popcorn film replete with action, adrenaline and explosions to satisfy any action junkie out there. But where it has action, it also has heart to pull that emotional heartstring. So with this, all in an IMAX or 3D format, enjoy this pre summer extravaganza.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                      Rated: PG-13                                    107mins.