Monster movies are a staple of the late night movie world, which means 2018 "Rampage" fits right into the Insomniac Theatre's roster of offerings.
And what an offering it was...
Davis is a primatologist, who raised a rare albino gorilla named George after its mother was killed by poachers. After a piece of the space station crashes near their nature preserve, George starts changing. Growing quickly, and getting more aggressive. While being transported to a research facility, George escapes- and heads straight for Chicago.
But he's not the only creature heading there...
I have seldom been disappointed in any of the movies I've seen with Dwayne Johnson in them. They may not be Shakespearean masterpieces, but they are always fun.
And "Rampage"- based on an 1986 arcade game of the same name, is fun.
The premise, and story is pretty basic and standard for a kaiju movie, but is such a great modern homage to the game- and kaiju movies in general. It knows what it is- and doesn't try to be something else.
The characters, while not being overly developed in favor of getting to the action faster are still interesting and likeable. Even the assholish government agent, Russell. The story is over the top (and a little ham and cheesy)- and so are the characters. From the army Colonel, to Russell, to the two villians Claire and Brett Wryden. These last three especially. Davis and former Energyne researcher Kate are the most grounded of the characters... but still have their moments of B-Movie goodness. The real star characters are the monsters themselves.
Since this movie is still fairly recent, I don't want to spoil the monsters (though fans of the original arcade game will know them already). I will say this: they are very much in keeping with the classic kaiju movies like "Godzilla" and "Gamera". I loved them. Just loved them- and they looked great!
As I said, this movie know what it was, and didn't pretend to be anything else. The acting fit into the almost B-Movie nature of the film very well. Dwayne Johnson was great as Davis. He was both actiony and funny. Naomie Harris brought an enjoyable energy and humour to Dr. Kate Caldwell, and Jeffery Dean Morgan was fantastic as agent Harvey Russell. While not hugely involved in the story itself, Maline Akerman and Jake Lacy as Clair and Brett Wyden were still fun to watch as the villainous CEOs of Energyne. Special mention certainly needs to go to Jason Liles, who did the motion capture for George. He brought a nice balance of animalness and humanity to his role- and it's great to see these unseen actors getting credit for these types of roles now.
The camera work is a nice blend of quick edits and longer stable shots to set the mood and tension of the scene. I really enjoyed the GoPro-like camera angle of Dwayne Johnson during the parachute sequence. Not something you see very often, and felt fresh and new. The CGI work, while not necessarily to the level of say the latest Godzilla film, is still enjoyable and capable of helping you suspend disbelief.
While, I must confess that this is a movie I would watch more than twice in a roll, it is one I would watch more than once in a year. I would also gleefully recommend it to fans to kaiju movies as a great example of modern North American big monster movies. I'm going to put "Rampage" in "The Good".
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