Rampage

I feel like that should have been funnier. Is it just me?

As a movie, I didn't have any real objections to it per se, but Rampage is one of the funniest videogames ever, and it seems like an utterly wasted opportunity to turn it into a standard action flick that is a cross between Godzilla, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, and Jurassic Park. Rampage is a very unique concept that would have made a fun movie. Of course if they had done right by the game there WOULD be no George and Davis, and none of the emotional beats would exist. Is that a bad thing? I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that outside of maybe Mars Attacks, I've never seen a movie with quite the sensibility of the videogame Rampage.

I loved Rampage. It's actually a really crappily constructed game when you get right down to it, particularly, the NES version (which was my fave). The NES version also will probably go down in videogame history (and infamy) in having the single worst game ending imaginable. But crappy graphics aside, it feels fun to control a monster, climb and destroy buildings, punch tanks, police cars, and helicopters, eat people (and hilariously toilets) and generally flatten the country. Rampage sort of filled a void in the 1980's that later games like Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto did in making the player have fun doing a horrible, violent thing. The thing is, I always resisted Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto because there is a reality attached to many of the horrible things you do in them. It's bloody which gives me the willies. Even Mortal Kombat made things comical in the second and third game because things were so grim it was easier to laugh at them. But the graphics to Rampage were like a comic you could see in Mad Magazine. It's a fun, dumb, cartoon. I feel all of the subversion of destroying the buildings, without any of the built-in guilt from Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto.

Would a movie from the monsters' perspective have worked? Where the happy ending is they destroyed the country? Even if those ideas WOULDN'T work, and making a human cast the heroes is more feasible for a movie, that doesn't mean they still couldn't have made it a more comical spoof.

Or does it? Those visual effects cost a LOT of money. It's possible the money men didn't want to take any real risks with the story. Mars Attacks is a cult favorite, and was very much appreciated upon its release. It was also a box office failure considering its budget. This is even MORE money on the screen. Would a cynical, darkly humored film which would need a budget at THIS level really want to emulate Mars Attacks? That's movie's fans think it's hilarious. The people it didn't win over think it's horrible. Personally, I think it's in the middle. But yeah, I understand why this movie wouldn't want to take that kind of risk. But that kind of risky subversive storytelling is what made Rampage (the game) Rampage.

I'm glad George survived for the single reason that there was no reason for him not to. I was annoyed at the apparent death because I assumed he only died because the producers believed they couldn't do anything for him past that. And it turns out they shared my thinking on the subject in that they don't actually NEED to concoct an ending or final scenario for him. They can just end the movie saying they will. Why? Because (and this is neat) this specific movie is not built for sequels. If they were looking to open a mega franchise they wouldn't have killed off both Ralph and Lizzie in the first one. And since this is it, they can end it how they like. Why NOT give George and Davis a big happy and goofy ending?

I also confess one of the funniest things about the game (that they totally changed) is that the monsters weren't mutated animals there. They were mutated humans. When you ran out of energy and lost the game the monster you were operating would turn back into a human in their underwear. They'd then either embarrassingly slink off the screen, or your buddy who was playing the game with you would eat them for extra points. Again, I'm not sure an idea that silly and dark would translate to a movie with a budget this size. But I think the idea would have funny.

In short, I liked it fine. But it's not Rampage. Not even close. It's just not funny enough. ***1/2.