Rampage
In Cinemas Now
Big meets bigger.
Director Brad Peyton's San Andreas and Journey star Dwayne Johnson leads this sci-fi action adventure based on the classic 1980s video game.
Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson) shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry mutates this gentle ape into a raging creature of enormous size. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered animals. As these newly created alpha predators tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
Trailers
Directed by
- Brad Peyton('San Andreas', 'Journey 2: Mysterious Island', 'ZeD')
Starring
Written by
Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Blockbuster
107mins
Rating: M Action violence and sustained threat
USA

Daniel Rutledge
flicks
This is a big, dumb monster movie far more cartoonish than most modern comic book movies, and more like silly, classic monster movies than the modern takes on King Kong and Godzilla. The evil corporation responsible for the mayhem is comically, ridiculously evil; the dialogue is campy in a '90s sort of a way and the narrative doesn’t much bother with logic or reason.
If that’s what you’re after and you keep your quality expectations low, Rampage is just fine.
The arcade game it’s based on was beloved for massive monsters smashing down a city’s buildings, while a tiny human army pitifully tried to stop them. The film certainly delivers that – although it takes about an hour for the monsters to make it to the city. The climactic battle has some suitably epic moments that deliver on a pure spectacle level.
But the obvious requirement for all of the important bits to be made in a computer lessens the impact, as it pretty much always does. The CGI is really well done, but in several of the crucial action shots it clearly looks like CGI, failing to properly trick the human eye into believing.
Dwayne Johnson’s enormous charisma makes every scene he’s in enjoyable, Naomie Harris makes for an interesting sidekick and Joe Manganiello is a surprising highlight as a sexy mercenary. Jeffrey Dean Morgan goes a little too far with it all, making his Walking Dead character seem subtle by comparison, but most of the supporting cast here ham things up more than they should.
That’s all part of the stupendous, winking tone - which will probably piss a lot of viewers off, even though I quite enjoyed it. There are some lame jokes that shouldn’t have been left in there and it’s a shame about how some of the action doesn’t work, but the movie is just fine. Hell, compared to most videogame adaptations, it’s actually bloody good.
Guardian (UK)
press
Empire (UK)
press
Time Out New York
press
IndieWire (USA)
press
Sydney Morning Herald
press
Los Angeles Times
press
New York Times
press
Variety (USA)
press
- ACT: Canberra
- NSW: Blue Mountains
- NSW: Central Coast
- NSW: Central West NSW
- NSW: Illawarra & South Coast
- NSW: Mid North Coast
- NSW: Newcastle & Hunter Valley
- NSW: Northern Rivers
- NSW: Snowy Mountains
- NSW: South Central NSW
- NSW: Southern Tablelands
- NSW: Sydney City, Inner & East
- NSW: Sydney North
- NSW: Sydney South
- NSW: Sydney West
- NSW: Tamworth & North East
- NT: Alice Springs
- NT: Darwin
- NT: Regional
- QLD: Brisbane Central
- QLD: Brisbane North & Moreton
- QLD: Brisbane South
- QLD: Cairns & Far North
- QLD: Darling Downs
- QLD: Gold Coast
- QLD: Ipswich
- QLD: North West
- QLD: Rockhampton & Central
- QLD: Sunshine Coast
- QLD: Townsville & Central North
- QLD: Wide Bay-Burnett
- SA: Adelaide
- SA: Eyre Peninsula
- SA: Far North
- SA: Fleurieu Peninsula
- SA: Flinders Rangers
- SA: Murray Bridge
- SA: Riverland
- SA: South Eastern
- TAS: Hobart
- TAS: North West
- TAS: Northern Tasmania
- VIC: Geelong
- VIC: Melbourne City & Inner
- VIC: Melbourne East
- VIC: Melbourne North & West
- VIC: Melbourne South & Frankston
- VIC: Mornington Peninsula
- VIC: North Eastern
- VIC: North West & Bendigo
- VIC: South Eastern
- VIC: South West
- VIC: West & Ballarat
- WA: Goldsfields-Esperance
- WA: Great Southern
- WA: Mid West
- WA: North West
- WA: Perth
- WA: Perth North & Joondalup
- WA: Rockingham & Mandurah
- WA: South West