RAMPAGE (2018) – My rating: 6.5/10

Rampage is a science fiction movie directed by Brad Peyton, and is loosely based on the video game series of the same name by Midway Games.  It is the third collaboration between Peyton and Johnson, following Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) and San Andreas (2015).  I really didn’t expect much from this film — the trailers looked like a children’s movie as well as the same old thing we’ve come to ignore.  I have much to say about Rampage and  it isn’t all good. Basically, Rampage is about a primatologist who must team up with an albino gorilla to stop two other animals from destroying Chicago.

Rampage starts with Athena-1, a research space station owned by a gene manipulation company called Energyne, which is destroyed after a laboratory rat mutates and wreaks havoc. Dr. Kerry Atkins (Marley Shelton), the lone surviving crew member, is ordered by CEO Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman), to retrieve research canisters containing a pathogen.  The escape pod eventually imploded, causing debris to spread across various locations in the US; a canister in the Everglades is consumed by an American crocodile as well as exposure of a pathogen to a gray wolf in a forest in Wyoming.

Primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), a former US Army Special Forces soldier and member of an anti-poaching unit, works at the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary, a wildlife preserve. He befriends a rare albino gorilla named George, whom he saved from poachers. Davis communicates with George using sign language and gestures, and George shows Davis that he has a sense of humor. At night, one of the canisters crash-lands in George’s habitat, exposing him to the pathogen.  George grows considerably larger and more aggressive over a short time. Davis is contacted by Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), a genetic engineer, who explains that the pathogen was developed by Energyne to rewrite genes on a massive scale.

Dr. Caldwell was hoping to advance CRISPR research as a potential cure for disease but discovered that Energyne planned to use it as a biological weapon. Meanwhile, Claire and her brother, Brett (Jake Lacy), fired Dr. Caldwell and sent her to prison on false charges for attempting to expose them.  The exposed animals go on a

I think you get the gest of this film, as I am stopping here to talk a little about the quality of Rampage.  The plot is simple and lends itself to a younger audience but the acting was seriously flawed.  Claire and her brother Brett tried hard but just couldn’t pull off the whole villain thing.  Their lines were so corny that I felt as though I watching a Saturday morning adventure project for kids.  The special effects were pretty descent but not the best I’ve seen.  Adding to the corny dialogue was their attempt to come off gangster like, which they never pulled off.  Also, there are some questions about the logic or lack of.  Dwayne Johnson is making movies so fast, that I’m afraid he’s going to acquire a rep for grade B films with bad acting.  I’m truly a fan but lately, I’ve been disappointed with “The Rock” and Disney.  The mutated animals reek havoc, making Rampage somewhat exciting but ridiculous.  See this one on DVD/Blu-Ray, you’ll probably be happier with your choice.

 

SAN ANDREAS (2015) – My rating: 8.5/10

San Andreas is another natural disaster movie for which we can do nothing about. The story revolves around the broken family of a helicopter rescue pilot, a Caltech Seismologist, a reporter, 2 youngsters visiting from England, a real estate developer and most of California and Nevada. Dr. Lawrence Hayes (Paul Giamatti) and his his colleague Dr. Kim Park (Will Yun Lee) have discovered that their research has paid off when they are able to predict earthquakes. Hoover Dam was the first to be hit with a 7.1 earthquake, killing almost everyone in the area and destroying the entire Dam. Because of the quake, Raymond (Dwayne Johnson) was called in to assist in the rescue efforts, preventing him from accompanying his daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario) on a trip to San Francisco. Instead she hitched a flight with her wealthy step father to be, Daniel Riddick (Ioan Gruffudd).  Once they arrived in San Francisco, Blake met Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his little brother Ollie (Art Parkinson).  Another earthquake hit and they were all caught in the largest recorded earthquake of 9.6 in history .  The special effects were literally out of this world.  The story was better than most of these disaster movies and the acting was excellent with many stars gracing the screen.  Raymond spent his time trying to rescue his family but getting through all the debris and dodging the falling buildings is a whole other story.  San Andreas is non-stop action with the usual destruction and problems one would encounter during such a phenomenon.  Like most of these types of movies, a lot of the escape scenes were unbelievable but necessary to create the wow factor.  Dwayne Johnson’s character is likable, which made the movie likable.  San Andreas is good entertainment.  I saw it in 3D because of all the special effects — I think it was worth the extra charge.