RAMPAGE (2018)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *cosmological*

I didn't have much to say about this 2018 Dwayne Johnson popcorn flick. I didn't know until reading up on it that it was an adaptation of an arcade game, which of course I have not seen, but whatever the source it just looks like a big-budget version of the many "colossal critter" films that litter the streaming services. 

Most colossal critters are spawned by hubris-filled experiments by either governmental entities or by private corporations. One interesting wrinkle here: though most space-oriented lab foulups have been linked to the government, the behemoths of RAMPAGE come about because a gene-splicing company conducts experiments aboard a private space station. This must be some sort of response to recent increased corporate presence in Earth's atmosphere. 

So a mutated rat tears up the private station of a gene-modification company and several cannisters of this animal-mutating "ooze" fall to Earth and begin turning regular critters into kaiju, such as a giant crocodile and giant wolf (neither of which, sadly, get kaiju-style cognomens). The third victim of the genetic pathogen in a gorilla named George, who will end up being something of a cross between King Kong and Mighty Joe Young. Prior to his infection George dwells at a San Diego wildlife sanctuary, supervised by his human buddy Davis Okoye (Johnson). Okoye being an environmentally sensitive tree-hugger, he's well and truly pissed when his ape-buddy (who can communicate through sign language) turns into a monster and gets sequestered by the U.S. government.

All three city-smashing monsters are brought together in Chicago, thanks to the CEOs of the gene-mutation company, Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) and her brother Brett (Jake Lacy). They hope to harvest the pathogen from one of the monsters in order to sell it on the tech market. Okoye, accompanied by hot scientist Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), do their best to prevent the villains' triumph and to save the normally good-natured gorilla. In the midst of all the spectacle there's a paltry subplot about how Okoye doesn't get along as well with his fellow humans as with animals. 

The film was a modest success but I found it a little too predictable to register on the fun-meter, while I only give it fair mythicity because of all the various cosmological details about the animal kingdom. It did occur to me to wonder how much longer Johnson can successfully mine his "big cuddly muscleman" routine, though. Since his starring debut in 2002's SCORPION KING, Johnson seems as if he looked around at Arnold Schwarzenegger's success with his more comical, less hardcore roles and thus decided to go that route all the way. Not that many successful actors don't pick a popular film-persona and keep coming back to it, but Schwarzengger for one was able to vary his act more than Johnson ever has. 

Oh, yeah, and since George survives (not really worth a "spoiler," is it?) there's talk of a RAMPAGE sequel. I won't hold my breath waiting.