{"id":28447,"date":"2018-07-11T09:43:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-11T13:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=28447"},"modified":"2018-07-11T09:47:33","modified_gmt":"2018-07-11T13:47:33","slug":"rampage-2018-blu-ray-dvd-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/11\/rampage-2018-blu-ray-dvd-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"Rampage (2018) [Blu-Ray\/DVD\/Digital]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>At the very least, video games seem to be evolving to where they\u2019re no longer abysmal and are gradually edging toward entertaining. \u201cTomb Raider\u201d was a blast, and \u201cRampage\u201d is a fun ninety minute diversion. Based on the pretty plotless classic video game of the same name, Brad Peyton\u2019s movie injects science fiction, action, giant monster movie madness, and yes, even features the game\u2019s iconic monsters rampaging through civilization, bringing down buildings left and right. It\u2019s bits and pieces of \u201cMighty Joe Young,\u201d \u201cKing Kong,\u201d and \u201cJurassic Park\u201d that tries to deliver on many levels.<\/p>\n

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After a space bound scientific experiment goes haywire, a piece of a contaminated device crash lands on Earth infecting three wild animals. Dwayne Johnson is David Okoye, an animal lover and primatologist whose formed a bond with a rare albino silverback gorilla named George whose stubbornness makes him hard to tame. But when George is affected by the shrapnel, he begins to rapidly increase in size and begins to experience uncontrollable rage induced fits that make him more and more a danger to everyone around him. With two rogue scientists seeking to murder the three infected animals, and David hoping to save George from being euthanized, he and geneticist Kate (Naomie Harris) look for a way to engineer an antidote, all the while trying to save the world from the rampaging trio of wild animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cRampage\u201d is by no means a masterpiece, or even a great movie, as it embraces its B movie monster roots from the get go. The video game was such a series of repetitive scenes involving monsters knocking down buildings, and the screenwriters do a solid job of giving the monsters rhyme and reason, as well as streamlining their designs for cinematic effect. I especially enjoyed the vicious wolf Ralph, as well as George, the lovable anti-hero thrust in to a situation beyond his comprehension. Johnson as always is charismatic and charming, and is aided by a great supporting cast including Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Joe Manganello in a role reminiscent of Gary Busey in \u201cPredator 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peyton\u2019s film wears its heart on its sleeve, feeling a lot like a silly Saturday morning cartoon, with big monsters, a buff hero, cool army guys, and two sniveling mustache twirling bad guys in the form of Claire and Brett, as played by Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy. They\u2019re so cartoonishly evil they almost feel like rejected \u201cCaptain Planet\u201d villains. \u201cRampage\u201d digs a bit deeper in to the more important aspects of the narrative, exploring the back story of our albino hero George, and he\u2019s a fun force of nature with excellent CGI that works well off of Johnson. Warner seeks out to build a goofy giant monster brawler and by god with \u201cRampage\u201d what you see is what you get. It\u2019s not a stellar bit cinema by any means, but I imagine it\u2019ll allow for some fun late night screenings on basic cable in the next few years. Hell, it\u2019s at least better than \u201cFallen Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the new release, there\u2019s \u201cNot a Game Anymore,\u201d a six minute look at how the legendary Midway video game inspired the monster\/disaster movie, the legacy of the video game, and how all the cast, including Dwayne Johnson are big fans of the original title. There\u2019s a two minute gag reel, and an HD reel of seven deleted scenes. \u201cRampage: Actors in Action\u201d is a ten minute behind the scenes segment with looks at how Johnson, Joe Manganiello and the rest of the cast prepared for the demanding stunt work and set pieces, and how director Brad Peyton envisioned the stunts and filmed them over and over.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrio of Destruction\u201d is a ten minute look at the design of the monsters with the artists at Weta Digital, as they bring the beasts to life for the film. \u201cAttack on Chicago\u201d is a ten minutes look at the carnage wrought on Chicago, the challenges of filming in the city on location, and the digital destruction that ensues. Finally there\u2019s \u201cBringing George to Life\u201d a twelve minute look at the creation of George with movement coordinator Terry Notary, and capture actor Jason Liles, who mastered behaving, moving and becoming \u201cGeorge.\u201d<\/p>\n