Monster-charged devastation

Johnson Thomas

Brad Peyton’s monster movie stars Dwayne Johnson as former special ops officer-cum-wildlife- ranger-turned-primatologist Davis Okoye and Naomie Harris as former Energyne geneticist Dr Kate Caldwell - teaming up to confront three gigantic, genetically modified predators. 

It’s of course a wild idea going south, replete with clichés and an incessant bull run of monstrous mayhem that crashes and burns in spectacular fashion for a while, and then turns to rubble soon enough. This latest big-studio attempt to score on the video-game-based VFX monster mash-up genre does not have the wherewithal to re-create the immersive thrill of playing a video-game. Its pitiable attempts to awe with size rather than content also makes it a largely flaccid exercise in defeatism. 

Davis’ attachment to George, the albino primate (he rescued from marauding rangers) and their humorous interactions in sign language, are the most interesting parts of the narrative here. The entry of shadowy government secret agent Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), syrupy-sweet-talker with a cowboy swagger adds a bit of fun but that’s not the overriding theme here. Despite all efforts, Rampage’s disaster scenario basically mimes classic B-movie material- there’s nothing original to make it special or unique. Johnson’s affable charm and self-deprecating humour spikes up some interest for what is at best a mindless popcorn entertainer hell-bent on scaling up the devastation to score high on thrills.