Rampage (12a/PG13)
Director: Brad Peyton
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, MalinAkerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Run time: 107 minutes
The fact that Rampage is based on a video game with no discernible plot, actually helps the film. Not bound to appease fans of the game narrative that has hamstrung recent adaptations like Assassins Creed and Tomb Raider. Instead, it can focus on just being a stripped down slice of pure popcorn munching entertainment.
Dwayne Johnson, a man whose dimensions make even less sense than the giant alligator he shares the screen with. Plays a primatologist/helicopter pilot/special forces/bullet proof hero. He is forced into action when his best friend is infected by evil gas, that has been created by an evil corporation, on an evil space station….that is evil. His best friend just happens to be an albino silverback gorilla friend named George.
Watchmen’s MalinÅkerman and her brother(Jake Lacy) best known as The Office’s goofy intern Pete. Run around screen like an evil version of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Naomie Harris is afforded more to do, in a role that would usually be summed up as “Sexy Scientist”. Jeffrey Dean Morgan has an absolute blast playing a holster carrying “cowboy”. He is so wonderfully over the top I kept checking the scenery for teeth marks.
Director Brad Peyton makes a vast improvement on his last Dwayne Johnson collaboration, the po-faced San Andreas, which had all the destruction but none of the charm. Its surprisingly funny, at times crude and with some really well executed jump scares. Rampage is a bombastic overload of brainless fun. That is far superior to pervious city destroying attempts like Pacific Rim 2 and The Last Knight. A lot of that is placed on the ginormous shoulders of its leading man. But it comes down to its gloriously simple premise. LET THEM FIGHT!!
3.5 out of 5
- Andy McCarroll
