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MOVIE REVIEW

Rampage

also known as “Rampage: Devastación,” “Besnenie,” “Griaunantys viska,” “Proyecto Rampage,” “Rampage - Big meets Bigger,” “Rampage - Fora de Controlo,” See more »
MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures.

Reviewed by: Maggie Hays
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive to Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: • Young Adults • Adults • Teens • Not family-friendly
Genre: Sci-Fi Action Adventure IMAX 3D
Length: 1 hr. 47 min.
Year of Release: 2018
USA Release: April 13, 2018 (wide—4,101 theaters)
DVD: July 17, 2018
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Relevant Issues

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CANCEROUS MUTATIONS—Where did cancer come from? Answer

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Visit our dinosaur-size Web site where you’ll discover a mountain of knowledge and amazing discoveries. How do dinosaurs fit into the Bible? You’ll find the answer to this and many more of your questions. Play games, browse and learn. Includes many helps for teachers and parents.
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Featuring Dwayne JohnsonDavis Okoye—a primatologist and head of an anti-poaching unit out of Rwanda

Naomie HarrisDr. Kate Caldwell—a discredited genetic engineer

Malin AkermanClaire Wyden—the woman responsible for the infection and mutation of George, Ralph, and Lizzie with the mutagenic serum for Project: Rampage

Jeffrey Dean MorganAgent Harvey Russell—works for a government agency called OGA

Jake Lacy … Brett Wyden
Joe Manganiello … Burke
Marley Shelton … Dr. Kerry Atkins
P.J. Byrne … Nelson
Demetrius Grosse … Colonel Blake
Jack Quaid … Connor
Breanne Hill … Amy
Matt Gerald … Zammit
Will Yun Lee … Agent Park
See all »
Director Brad Peyton — “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” (2012), “San Andreas” (2015)
Producer Flynn Picture Company
New Line Cinema
See all »
Distributor
Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures. Trademark logo.
Warner Bros. Pictures
, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company

This movie is based on the 1980s Atari video game featuring apes and monsters destroying cities.

The basic premise for this film is that scientists have discovered how to do very advanced genetic editing. In a series of unfortunate accidents, the substance to accomplish this editing affects an albino gorilla, an alligator, and a wolf. The three animals mutate to monstrous sizes and violent behavior patterns and go on a rampage. Normally these animal species do not combine their skills to work as a team, but they are being manipulated and drawn to Chicago where they can be controlled by the company that produced the DNA-altering substance. The albino gorilla, George, had been rescued as a baby from poachers by Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, who plays Davis Okoye, professional primatologist who taught George sign language. However, infected by the serum, George no longer wants to communicate with Okoye. So, in just under two hours, our hero Okoye must subdue and save George, along with the entire city of Chicago.

The first half of the movie lays the groundwork and storyline and introduces the characters; the second half is almost nonstop action.

If you are considering this film for your family, here are some observations that you may find helpful.

The gorilla had been taught how to give the middle finger and does this twice, supposedly as a joke.

OBJECTIONABLE LANGUAGE—There is way too much bad language in this film. There are over 75 crude words—almost one every two minutes. Discounting the non-dialog action sequences, I’d say there are few conversations in the film that do not contain vulgar language. I observed 15 mentions of “h*ll,” almost 30 times “sh*t” was said (including “Holy sh*t”), the names of God and Jesus were disrespectfully used a dozen times, there were 7 mentions of “d*mn,” “motherf…” (the f-word is drowned out by sound), 5 mentions of “b*tch” or “son of a b*tch,” 7 mentions of “A*s” or “A*s hole,” and a smattering here and there of “b*stard,” “screw,” “s*cks,” and other crude words.

VIOLENT CONTENT—This is not a movie about three fluffy pets that attend a garden party. The title of the movie sums it up pretty well. ”Rampage,” the Cambridge English Dictionary defines as “violent and usually wild behavior.” That is what you have in this movie. Three creatures of amazing size and strength rampage through Chicago, destroying it as they go. They leap up and chomp on military aircraft that is attacking them. They kill people. They are impervious to military weapons. Think King Kong meets Cloverfield meets Jurassic World meets Pacific Rim. Put those films in a blender and out pours “Rampage.”

GORE—An animal eats a person alive. An animal’s head is bitten off. An animal is impaled with a beam through its eye. Human blood is seen dripping in several scenes from gory injuries. Humans are seen flying through the air as animals attack and throw them.

DISTURBING IMAGES—A space station shows mutilated human bodies floating in weightless space, animals are seen in distress many times, dead animals are seen lying around in at least 3 scenes, Okoye, wounded, walks around in a bloodied shirt during much of the movie, soldiers are violently killed in battle, a helpless woman is trapped in a space capsule that explodes.

SHOCK SEQUENCES—There are several scenes where things are quiet then, suddenly, an animal jumps out and lunges at people. I nearly jumped out of my seat several times. Consider this if you have coronary issues.

SKIMPY CLOTHING—A woman wears a tight dress that reveals much cleavage. Another woman wears short shorts and is also seen in her underwear, getting dressed. There is no full nudity.

ALCOHOL/DRUGS/SMOKING—At one point, a character, after fighting the animals, says “I need a drink.” No alcohol is seen. There is no evidence of smoking or any drug use.

SEX—No sexual activity is obvious. However, the gorilla makes a supposedly-humorous, though crude, gesture imitating intercourse.

MORALITY ISSUES—A girl sleeps in, and while throwing on her clothes says on the phone “I’m on the Freeway now” and continues to lie about the drive to the office, adding details about traffic back-ups, etc., while she watches TV. The “bad guys” are a brother/sister team who are without conscience (sociopaths). They care nothing for the suffering of people, or animals, only how they can enrich themselves. Poachers and their cruel activities are discussed in one scene.

NEGATIVE DEPICTION OF PROTECTIVE FORCES—The Military commander is portrayed in a negative light. He does not listen to reason and seems to have an unswerving devotion to doing things his own way despite the advice of animal experts. A government agent is also portrayed in a negative way, bullying the main characters and the gorilla.

POSITIVE POINTS—There are some redeeming scenes as people get over their differences and decide to let bygones be bygones and work together to save Chicago. There are scenes that show compassion for the gorilla and his love for his caregiver.

Frankly, RAMPAGE is a silly movie. There are parts of it that don’t even make sense at all. Nothing about it is profound or thought-provoking. The special effects are excellent though. The three animals affected by the DNA-altering substance look so real it is amazing. I would say the special effects are the star of the movie, and I always admire what the entertainment industry can do to make things look so real. The soundtrack is edgy, and I found myself simply concentrating on the music, since it added to the excitement. But then, I always notice soundtracks and take note of the composers.

As to entertainment quality—I was entertained, but then I like science fiction and action movies with great soundtracks. Sometimes, due to the corny action and predictability of the film, I laughed out loud at parts that weren’t even meant to be funny. It’s just an escape B-grade flick with monsters. People who like monster movies like “Pacific Rim” and “Cloverfield” will love it. Is it worth two hours of your time? Only moviegoers can decide that. If you want to see a film that will make you think—I’d recommend CHAPPAQUIDDICK. If you want something mindless to eat popcorn by, you’d probably go for RAMPAGE. Middle school-age and older teen boys would probably get a kick out of this film, but children younger than 10 would likely find it too intense and scary. The second half of the film moves at a frenetic pace as the beasts wreak havoc on the city of Chicago and the military.

  • Violence: Very Heavy
  • Profane language: Heavy
  • Vulgar/Crude language: Heavy
  • Nudity: Minor
  • Sex: None
  • Occult: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Neutral
Neutral—I missed the very beginning. The movie was action pack. I feel the end was uncalled for. You have young children and Christians that were watching that did not appreciate the end at all, where Gorilla sticks his finger up and then made the hand sign of sex. Children in the movie theater thought it was funny, but it was not funny nor nice nor respectful. Remember is God is watching our every move, and movies do not need this kind of actions in the movie to make it Great. Bad words were used also, just not called for. Let us teach our Children that we want to be respectful at all times. Thank you for allowing me to tell my views.
Gayle Cowan Burton, Olive Branch Ms., age 58 (USA)
Negative
Negative—Amazing CG and special effects, but the storyline is a rerun, and the ape has been trained to use obscene gestures by his handler (Johnson). Once again, unnecessary and gratuitous vulgarity demean the overall movie, coupled with some mediocre acting and it turns out to be a snoozer instead of a thriller.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Dennis, age 64 (USA)
Negative—Too much cuss words, and the hand gestures by the ape is way over the line for family viewing.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
David, age 66 (USA)

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

Secular Movie Critics
…It takes some time for the action sequences to fully engage, but from about the movie’s midpoint, Peyton delivers a succession of staggering set pieces. …
Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter
…The plot is cursory, the dialogue is repetitive and the psychology is cheap. Hanging in for the wanton violence may prove too much for anyone not seriously addicted to the guilty pleasures of cheesy sci-fi. …
Kate Taylor, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
…“Rampage” is a big, noisy nothing—an action extravaganza that fails at being funny just as hard as it fails at being serious. …doesn’t even really work as a cheap, fun watch…
David Sims, The Atlantic
…In Hollywood, if you have a really dumb idea for a movie and a lot of money to make it, you call The Rock. That’s not intended as an insult; the guy is just the industry’s greatest salesman. …This is a movie about gorillas punching buildings. You don’t want character work getting in the way of that. …[3/5]
Olly Richards, Empire [UK]
…This crazy-gleeful adventure jumps between grisly and cartoonish…
Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle
…It’s both a blindingly predictable pastiche of an action movie—absolutely nothing happens here that you haven’t seen in a movie before, with the possible exception of some crass sign-language humor from a giant gorilla…
Alissa Wilkinson, Vox
…It’s big, bloated, and, if you give in to the familiar charms of its jacked leading man, not unenjoyable. (Alternately, you could easily just let it induce a little nap.) …
Sara Stewart, New York Post
…Keeps playing its two winning cards over and over again, and is smart enough to realise they are more than enough. The first is the giant animal carnage itself, which crackles with fun ideas and flourishes throughout. The second is the comic chemistry of a superbly picked cast who bring everyone in on the joke. …
Robbie Collin, The Telegraph [UK]
…Seriously, the movie is pretty awful, but Johnson, as ever, seems to be having a ball, even when he’s all serious and concerned and shot up and beaten up and building-dropped-upon. …
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic
…It’s aggressively dumb… one shark short of a Sharknado… I’m not terribly convinced that the overtly campy version of this film would be any better, but I’m very certain that this one is bad. …
Emily Yoshida, New York Magazine (Vulture)
…pricey, bloody-minded B-movie on steroids, an intensely unlikeable picture despite being built around the almost-always likeable Dwayne Johnson. …Dwayne Johnson gets the big bucks for joking a digital ape out of his “Rampage”… [1/4]
Roger Moore, Movie Nation
…The problem with “Rampage” is that it’s not content to be mindless fun. There’s too much exposition and too many needless human villains. Plus, the tone is more lugubrious than the flippancy suggested by the trailers. …
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
…“Rampage” might not be the worst movie of the year so far, but it’s a contender for most pointless. …
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
…“Rampage” has Dwayne Johnson. But that’s not enough to save it… The plot of “Rampage” is of the “Who cares?” variety, because really, who cares?… The movie is at its best when it’s sopping with sentimentality and when it goes right over the top in its depiction of dorky destruction. Everything in between is a drag. …
Stephanie Zacharek, Time
…A hopelessly bland and bizarrely self-serious monster movie. …
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
…You know what might make an intriguing, revealing movie? The story of how, over 30 years after its debut, a relatively innocent arcade game starring a giant ape and other oversize beasts underwent a corporate transmogrification and became a turgid, logy sci-fi/action blockbuster…
Glenn Kenny, The New York Times