Warner Bros. Pictures
Hotchka’s Justin Moore reviewed Rampage upon its theatrical release, and now the movie is available on home video including a sharp 4K edition. Justin could relate to the movie from the standpoint of a player of the video game, so he enjoyed it significantly more than the average movie-goer who may have just been attracted to the movie for Dwayne Johnson or giant apes.
I’ve never played the video — nor had I even heard of it prior to the movie — so I was seeing Rampage with a pair of fresh eyes, no preconceived notions attached. And you know what … it’s not as bad as most of the critics would have you believe. Is it utterly ridiculous? Definitely. But it has heart where the relationship between Johnson’s Davis Okoye and his ape friend George is concerned. And when, through nefarious circumstance, George begins to grow and become more violent, you really feel for the ape. I don’t know who did the motion capture performance for George, but the combination of the acting and the CGI really fleshes out the character.
Where things begin to get terrible silly is with the introduction of the giant wolf — that flies — and the giant alligator that can climb the side of a skyscraper. But … this is completely in the spirit of the video game which is basically those three giant creatures smashing skyscrapers. It’s just difficult to translate something so simple and silly into a cohesive narrative so when the movie veers into special effects destruction territory, it loses a bit of the heart it had. I’m not sure about the performances of Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy as the villains. If they’d given Akerman a mustache, she would have definitely been twirling it. Lacy’s performance is just … bad. Jeffrey Dean Morgan also shows up every now and then to chew the scenery. Johnson’s performance is actually very human and his interactions with George are very believable. So Rampage is a mixed bag of performances with some top notch special effects and a sometimes silly story.
The new 4K release of the movie looks and sounds spectacular (reportedly an upscale from a 2K source). The image is so sharp you can see the individual CGI hairs on George, with some exquisite detail in the face. Even with the film’s color grading to desaturate the image, there is still a nice depth to the color, and blacks are dark and inky. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is fully immersive with sound effects coming from all directions while keeping the voices centered or positioned properly in relation to the image. Over all it’s a very nice presentation.
The 4K edition also comes with a Blu-ray version of the movie which is where you’ll find all the extras.
- Not Just a Game Anymore (6:15) – The cast and crew look back at the video which newcomers to this title should appreciate as a point of reference for the movie. Johnson was a huge fan of the game.
- Deleted Scenes (10:12) – A collection of scenes that are inconsequential to the movie.
- Gag Reel (2:43) – Flubs and making faces.
- Rampage: Actors in Action (10:45) – A lengthy behind-the-scenes look at the preproduction planning for the film, working with real and digital sets, stunt training and more.
- Trio of Destruction (10:08) – A look at the film’s three monsters, how they were brought to life, how the plot explored the realities of the creatures, and more insight into the special effects that brought them to life.
- Attack on Chicago (10:23) looks at how Chicago figured into the story and how it was recreated through digital and practical effects for the film’s massive scenes of destruction.
- Bringing George to Life (11:53) goes behind the scenes of the motion capture process to capture the performance for the digital artists to work with.
For a movie that under-performed at the box office, Warner Bros. gave this a very comprehensive set of extras in addition to the stunning 4K presentation. If you enjoyed the movie on the big screen, you’ll definitely want to pick this up on home video. If you’re not familiar with the video game, and didn’t want to see it on the big screen, it’s definitely worth a look at home. Rampage is available in 4K, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment generously provided Hotchka with a 4K Blu-ray version of the film for reviewing purposes.
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