Rampage

Midway's Giant Monster Mash Rampage bashed into the arcades in 1986. A few more arcade and home games followed before its last incarnation, Rampage: Total Destruction. The monsters are back from their decade of dormancy for a big screen escapade, also called Rampage. It's neither the worst nor the best video game movie. But it's a decent pre-summer monster movie.

Two bad humans, Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) and her brother Brett (Jake Lacy), run the evil Enegyne corporation. Their latest invention is a pathogen that makes animals bigger and angrier. "Project: Rampage" goes horribly right on their space-station, as its monster lab rat kills all but one crew member. Her escape pod blows up and sends three canisters of the monster pathogen across the States.

One such canister crashes into the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary and is found by an albino gorilla, George. He becomes a big problem overnight. Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), the ex-army man and primatologist who raised George, tries to help him. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), an ex-Energyne scientist, tells Davis what's happening to George. A secret agent man, Agent Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), takes George into custody.

Meanwhile, the other crashed canisters create Ralph the Wolf and Lizzie the Crocodile. Claire uses a sonic transmitter to lure the giants to Chicago. It's up to Davis, Kate and Agent Russell, to go to Energyne headquarters to find a way to reverse the pathogen before the city goes down.

Director Brad Peyton realizes a screenplay by four people, including Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse. It opens with a scene that mixes Gravity with Aliens. Davis and George's first scene sets up their fun chemistry. And when George mutates, it rarely stops to breathe before another action scene. That's true with the Chicago rampage that takes up the last third of the movie. The relentless action may exhaust a few viewers and thrill many more. As for me, I liked the comic bits but the drama didn't faze me. And I can't help but think how short-sighted the villains were in attracting the monsters. Did they have a plan to keep their HQ from getting punched out by angry monsters? I didn't hear one.

The human cast is pretty good. The main humans are memorable for a movie this simple. Johnson and Morgan are their reliable tough guy selves, and Harris makes for a strong ally. Claire and Brett made some entertainingly short-sighted villains. Meanwhile, Burke (Joe Manganiello), an Engyne mercenary, is the most memorable waste of a character in recent cinema. He's got a lot of bluster but he's only here to give Ralph a named snack.

The film succeeds in its technical aspects. The monsters are perfectly rendered CGI characters. The motion capture work for George and his fellow gorillas is strong. Lizzie and Ralph make for formidable giant beasts. Even the mutant lab rat in the opening is creepy. Their rampages provide plenty of destruction and mayhem. The sound designers give them strong growls, snarls and roars. The best aspect is Andrew Lockington's thunderous score, especially in its opening scene.

Rampage is an adequate monster movie. It's sure to fill a good matinee spot before Infinity War comes next week. Its story and characters could've used more substance. But its monster smashing makes it worthwhile. Hopefully, its existence renews interest in the franchise. I'm willing to play the new arcade game out now.