RAMPAGE

Film Review by FIORE

Grab a jumbo tub of popcorn and get ready for a celluloid thrill ride.  RAMPAGE is a chock full of fun, action, laughs, thrills and prodigious special effects. 

Once again, this is a film based on an arcade game I never played.  Apparently, it doesn’t matter because the film version is so divergent from the game, it is an entirely new concept.  Primatologist, and former spec ops vet Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) is pressed into action when a space station implodes sending its cargo of genetic mutation hurling toward Earth.  The wayward canisters affect several creatures, turning them into giant monsters, including George, an albino silverback gorilla who is Okoye’s friend.  The monsters trek to Chicago, and the fate of the city rests with Davis and George.

Helping The Rock are Pittsburgh native Joe Manganiello, who has a brief, but effective role, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who steals every scene he is in, and the alluring Naomie Harris.

The SFX in RAMPAGE are exceptional.  The final battle of the monsters is worth the price of admission alone.  Director of Photography Jaron Presant, Editors Jim May and Bob Ducsay and Production Designer Barry Chusid combine for a visual sci-fi extravaganza.  I saw RAMPAGE in standard definition, but second time around, I may spend the extra nickel and catch it in IMAX 3D.  It lends itself to the technology.

As good as the SFX are, that’s how absurd the action sequences are; everything in RAMPAGE is over the top.  Impossible stunts and skirmish scenes are the norm.  Scope out the Rock flying half of a helicopter on the top of a building as it collapses for proof.

No agendas, no social aphorism, no propaganda, no holier-than-thou sermons; just solid escapism with battles and big monsters.  So, what’s not to like?