Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jake Lacy, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello
Director: Brad Peyton
Release date: 12th April 2018
An explosion has pretty much destroyed the Space Station, Athena 1, and only one crew member has survived. She is running from something very dangerous and when radioing in, she’s told to save as many ‘samples’ as she can. Narrowly avoiding being killed by the creature on board, she manages to get herself into an escape pod. The station explodes in a fire-y fireball but unfortunately for her, so does the pod. The 3 samples are sent plummeting down towards the Earth… Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) is a leading expert in primatology in the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary, and he has formed a very close bond with an albino gorilla named George. Having rescued the gorilla from poachers when it was just a baby, he is now able to communicate with it through the use of sign language. One day, Davis gets a call saying that something has happened to George and he should get to the sanctuary as soon as possible. On arrival he finds that George has killed another animal, and he is cowering in a cave. On closer inspection, Davis sees that George’s size has increased significantly. The whole thing is a total mystery. A geneticist called Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) arrives and explains what has happened. Unfortunately the Government has gotten wind of George’s growth and increased strength and they turn up to take him away.. What does the Government want with George and who is behind these dangerous experiments?
‘Rampage’ is based on the old 1986 computer game of the same name, which people of a certain age will remember fondly. Players would control these gigantic monsters and have to pit their wits against military forces. Each level is completed when a city is totally destroyed.
Where to begin when trying to describe this movie… well, I can say with all honesty that I absolutely loved it! Dwayne Johnson does seem to get a bit typecast these days, as a muscle-bound hero but in fairness, he suits the role to a T. I don’t think that I could envisage anyone else in the role of Davis Okoye and there’s not really that many people built like him either.
Visually, this movie is stunning. You’ll be sat with your mouth open wide when you see a lot of the scenes playing out. The creatures are amazing and their fights and the way they reduce Chicago to smoking rubble is just incredible. There’s not really what you’d call a huge cast and if anything, that makes the story a lot better. The focus of the piece is the unfortunate creatures that have been affected by this rogue genetic experiment. At the end of the day, they’ve all been changed against their wills and are just fighting to survive. Military and Government forces have been sent to exterminate them all and will use whatever force is necessary to take them down.
If you like your movies big, loud and full of incredible action then go and see ‘Rampage’. So many reasons to give this one a watch, I doubt there’s very many people who aren’t a fan of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson by now. I saw it in 3D IMAX and if you can manage to see it in this format then do try to. It’s definitely a rollercoaster of a movie, where you can just sit with your popcorn and get pure entertainment out of it. Running at an hour and ¾, it’s long enough but it really doesn’t feel that long when you’re watching it.
Plenty of laughs and eye-widening action, ‘Rampage’ would be a great one to watch with you mates or on a family night out. Go watch it and see for yourself.
Overall: 9/10
