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THE UNCANNY VALLEY — I don’t remember much about the first time I played the video game “Rampage” back in 1986, but I do vividly recall not saying the game would make a good movie.
In the game, there are three different genetically modified characters you can play as: A giant King Kong-type gorilla named George, a Godzilla-like reptile named Lizzy and a giant wolf named Ralph.
As one of these three characters it is your job to destroy buildings, cars and signs and cause as much property and physical damage as possible, all while being attacked by an ineffective military.
Apparently, this concept was enough to create a 2-hour, $120 million Hollywood movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which somehow kind of works.
Here are some things the movie pulls off and some other aspects of the movie that aren't successful:
What works
A lot of action
What “Rampage” lacks in nuanced social commentary and thoughtful dissection of complex emotional relationships, it more than makes up for in things blowing up.
The story manages to keep your eyes on the screen with its action sequences — each designed to be more explosive than the last. The movie was paced just right in that you never get bored of a scene before something interesting happens. This seems like a no-brainer in action movies, but it is surprising how many movies get this wrong.
A couple solid performances
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying the acting is good in this film, but you get what you expect from The Rock: A solid performance.
Dwayne Johnson does what he gets paid a lot to do, which is keep your eyes on the screen. While I am pretty sure Johnson walked right off of the set of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” onto the set of “Rampage” without a wardrobe change in between, he manages to keep the energy up throughout the film.
I am not terribly familiar with much of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's previous work other than “Watchmen,” but I did enjoy watching him in this film. He plays a high-ranking agent named Harvey Russell from a nondescript government agency tasked with “changing the sheets” when science messes the bed.
Morgan’s arrogant character is fun to watch and a good counter to Johnson’s do-gooder persona. There is a bit of good chemistry between the two actors, which makes the acting trainwreck that is all other performances bearable to watch.
The CGI is believable
I am still baffled at how Hollywood can make completely believable computer animations of giant gorillas and lizards destroying entire cities but cannot manage to properly edit a mustache from Superman’s face in “Justice League.”
I am really critical about how believable CGI is or is not in movies. My motto is: “If you can’t make me believe it, don’t try.” As I watched this movie my head was never taken out of the moment due to bad animation. In fact, it was more distracting that I couldn’t believe I really liked what I was seeing.
What doesn’t work
It's disposable
When all is said and done “Rampage” will go down in history as an action film released in 2018. This movie is just another in a long line of movies designed to make a quick buck before the summer movie season starts in earnest.
This film will quickly be forgotten after the release of the bigger summer blockbusters like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Jurassic World”.
Most of the acting is bad
Aside from the performances I mentioned earlier, the rest of the acting in this film was distractingly bad. I guess for what this film offered in CGI, it took away in acting. My head was taken out of the story almost every single time one of the secondary characters opened their mouths.
We are living in a magical time when it is easier to believe the world is being destroyed by cleverly arranged pixels on a screen than by the ability of an actual human being acting out a few lines of written dialogue.
Conclusion
I have no illusions as to what type of movie this is, so calling me out for expecting this film to be more than a mindless excuse to eat popcorn will do you no good. “Rampage” is entertaining if you are willing to look past its weaknesses.
Thirty-two years later and I stand firmly behind what I did not say back then. The video game “Rampage” did not make a great movie, but it was fun to watch.
A quick note about content: “Rampage” is rated PG-13 and earns it with the liberal use of swear words and people being killed in terrible ways by imaginary creatures. There is no sexual content or nudity beyond one mild sexual innuendo.
