Today the Cinema Analytica team went to see Rampage, the latest film featuring The Rock. The video game movie had a $35M opening weekend at the domestic box office (which is strong for the genre), and is doing very well in the worldwide market. Dwayne Johnson has proven time and time again that he's a huge international draw. Rampage is a good movie, which we gave a 7 out of 10, and are proclaiming to be the best giant monster smashing buildings movie since 2013's Pacific Rim. The Rock shows a wide range of emotions as this international man of mystery. He does not miss.
The Rock plays the role of "gorilla whisperer" and the handler of the animal that grows into a giant (which you see in the trailer), forming a special bond with nature. The plot wasn't terribly strong, but it didn't need to be. You get to experience some classic Rock moments. When you combine that with some quality "giant monster smashing buildings" footage, the result is an entertaining product. You will almost certainly laugh, you might even cry (depending on your emotional tolerance). Our theater had a decent sized crowd who laughed out loud several times.
The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan delivered a strong performance as "Government Agent" who plays the role of advancing the plot. He is upstaged by The Rock's animal magnetism, but is still one of the better supporting government agents you'll see in a video game monster movie. I stopped watching the Walking Dead prior to Negan's introduction, so I'm not able to comment on how this role compares to that one, only that he was enjoyable in Rampage.
Far be it from me to suggest how this movie could have been made better, but the Rock growing to monster size would have been an interesting spin. This would be a similar process to the original video game, where your character transforms and reverts back once you receive a certain amount of damage. Maybe we didn't get a giant Rock fighting a giant alligator in Chicago, but the result was still satisfying. The film does rank high on the Monster movie scale. We ranked it with a similar score to Godzilla 2014, but gave it the edge due to recency and Rock bias. If you like the Rock, you'll enjoy this movie. It certainly would not have worked with Vin Diesel in the leading role.
Ranking Recent Giant Monster Movies:
1. Pacific Rim 1
2. Rampage
3. Godzilla 2014
4. Kong Skull Island
5. Pacific Rim 2
We do recommend that all Rock fans go see this movie. If you like DJ, you'll get what you paid for. The People's Champion is always worth the price of admission, even when he's carrying Zach Efron.
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