Movie: Rampage

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Wild WMD infects Gentle George

Plot Overview

In 1993 the CRISPR gene splicing technology was developed to allow easy gene manipulation. By 2016 it was on its way to becoming a WMD. Present day there's a catas­trophic loss of the Athena space crew while its sole remaining astronaut Dr. Kerry Atkins (Marley Shelton) flees into the escape pod to escape the lab “rat” on the loose. Ground control forces her to take her samples with her in canisters. The rat-gnawed escape pod is doomed, but the “canisters were engineered to with­stand reentry.” Chances are they'll land harm­lessly in the ocean. How­ever, there's a bit of bad luck. One lands in the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary (SDWS), one near Casper, Wyoming, and one in the Florida Everglades. Each infects a large creature. You think that “rat” looked bad, wait till you see the enhanced “gorilla”, “wolf”, and “alligator.”

Energyne Moguless Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) uses a LF beacon to draw these dangerous creatures to Chicago. Her plan is to let the government kill them; then she will retrieve their DNA, weaponize it, and sell it on the black market. OGA operative Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has captured and sedated George a tame gorilla rapidly out­growing his dosage.

SDWS primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) teams up with Energyne's former geneticist Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) to give his rampaging pal George the R–19 “chill pill” aggression antidote and enlist his help to kill the other two monsters before a severely embattled army drops their largest non-nuclear bomb MOAB on a partially evacuated Chicago.

Ideology

Davis rejects a come-on by an intern because he's “not a people person”—he relates more to zoo animals. Yes, and agent Russell is not a by-the-book guy, Dr. Kate is not a company man, and George is not a classy primate—he's got a “twisted sense of humor.” They form a de facto troop to get things done, what we might call the A–Troop (“Like my grand­pappy always said: us ass­holes gotta stick together.”) They do, however, illustrate the truism, (Eccl. 4:9-12) “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall with­stand him; and a three­fold cord is not quickly broken.”

The primatologist and the geneticist work well together with complementary talents. The astronaut, how­ever, did not fare well once the rest of her crew was dead. When the FBI raided Energyne's offices, they confiscated all their exposed computer equip­ment but missed a critical piece that was wed to a thermostat in a fridge. And when the two scientists teamed up with the OGA agent, they were able to prevail against the military establishment, and the two scientists aligned with George stood a chance against the monsters.

A question had been raised after the introductory scene where Davis Okoye led some interns on a tour of the Primate Exhibit. He'd intro­duced a juvenile male ape to some females to observe all the reactions to “Pavlo's first interaction with the troop.” After­wards one of the young female interns wanted him to explain some points about submission, “perhaps over dinner.” For all her success at getting a dinner date, she might as well have asked Pee Wee Herman. Yet, hers was a valid question, and let's look at how, say, the YMCA might handle it: (158–60)

the chief role of the woman in the household is to show forth the glory of the new life in Christ in her relation­ship with her husband. She recognizes that “the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man” (1Cor. 11:8-9) She willingly accepts the fact that man is the head of the woman and submits to her husband's authority not grudgingly and in fear but willingly, freely, and in joy. This, after all, is what the Christian life is. Christians are to be servants … “So it belongs to woman, in her capacity as a woman, to bear witness more particularly to what is the stuff of the whole Christian ethic” (Mehl-Koehnlein 459).

The intern looked like she'd be more than happy to be the submitted monkey to the big ape leading the tour. Usually this particular message is given in a series that includes one directed as well to the big galoot of her hubby, telling him to deal kindly with the little woman, but here there is no paired romance nor any male interest in the subject what­so­ever. Instead, all the guys are … well, they don't call it the A–Troop for nothing. Of course, in the Bible Sarah's subjection to Abraham, “calling him lord” (1Peter 3:6), is determinative for all Christian wives in every troop, despite Abraham being an a-hole in his own right when (Gen. 20:2) he passed Sarah off as his sister to the chagrin of their neighbors (Gen. 20:9-12).

Production Values

This video game derivation, “” was directed by Brad Peyton. The screen­play was written by Ryan Engle & Carlton Cuse. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Malin Akerman. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a special agent added a nice touch. Malin Akerman and Jason Liles playing the company heads of Energyne seemed like cookie-cutter villains and helped us not to take the blood and gore too seriously. The cast did their dedicated best. Johnson “the Rock” added an unexpected soft side to his character.

MPAA rated it PG–13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures. It employs top-notch special effects, I would guess motion capture for the leading ape, he seemed like just a big teddy bear. The action is non-stop obviating any need for character development.

Review Conclusion w/ Christian Recommendation

I really enjoyed this action flick. From the space station to the jungle exhibit, to the Wyoming hinter­land, to a trans­port plane, to a Chicago under siege, the monsters kept on coming. I feared I might have to leave the theater when the scary wolf-thing showed up, but I stayed to see what would become of his ugly ass. The two villains were nicely written off, too. Don't expect any romance; there's not a hint of it beyond some obscene gestures from a twisted ape.

Movie Ratings

Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Special effects: Absolutely amazing special effects. Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall product rating: Four stars out of five.

Works Cited

Scripture is taken from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.

Cole, William Graham. Sex and Love in the Bible. Copyright © 1959 by National Board of Young Men's Christian Associations. New York: Association Press, 1959. Print.

Mehl-Koehnlein, H., in A Companion to the Bible. J.J. von Allmen, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1958. As quoted in Cole. Print.