Hit, smash and run; 'Rampage' will grab you

Rampage

English (U/A)

Director: Brad Peyton

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman

Rating: 3/5

Rampage is the latest video game-inspired movie with the actor-director pairing of Dwayne Johnson-Brad Peyton. After San Andreas and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Rampage's screenplay feels familiar.

There is a loveable beast who turns into a monster. An attachment which stays firm even after hell is set loose. Action sequences that keep the audience glued to the screen. And an acceptance that this is going to be a mindless, entertaining, high-on-CGI film.

Rampage is an out-and-out action flick with a tinge of sentimentality thrown in, thanks to the bromance between Davis Okoye (Johnson) and the gorilla George (played through motion capture by Jason Liles).

Okoye had rescued George from poachers when he was a cute little albino gorilla with bright blue eyes.

They have now grown to become best buds and even communicate in sign language. The conversations between the two are an adorable watch.

There is trouble in paradise when an evil corporation's shady genetic mutation project (imagine gigantic rats in space) enters the atmosphere and wreaks havoc.

Our George, a wolf (Ralph) and a crocodile are accidentally infected by the virus and thus the "rampage" begins.

No points for guessing that The Rock saves the day with a scientist's (Naomie Harris) help and a government official's (Harvey Russell's Jeffrey Dean Morgan) cool quotient.

Russell's cowboy character floats through the chaos effortlessly.

What actually strikes a chord in the film is Okoye's dislike for humans and love for beasts.

Can you blame him when the world today is more inhumane than ever?

The sci-fi story is a delight to watch as the monsters reduce a city to rumbles, but there is still hope as an antidote to undo the genetic mutation is found.

But in our real world, the beasts among humans and horrors they inflict are tougher to defeat and unfortunately, there is no antidote to get rid of them.

A relevant commentary for Rampage is a matter of perspective and an after-effect of watching a predictable storyline.

The film, is obviously, not tailormade to satisfy an audience looking for excellent cinematic experience. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining watch with a sprinkle of humour.

Well, even if an ape, like George - 'The ape with a twisted sense of humour' - was the point of the humankind's evolution, the world might have been a better place today.