Awesome action

Rapid, ridiculous, Rampage. It seems Dwayne Johnson can do no wrong as of late, with yet another wild romp featuring something even bigger than his muscles.

Actually, it’s three somethings. A super-sized gorilla, a wolf that may or may not have the ability to fly, and a ravenous mutant crocodile. Hooked yet?

Primatologist Davis Okoye (played by Johnson) shares a close bond with George, an extraordinarily-intelligent gorilla who has been in his care since birth. Suddenly, a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape, and two other alpha predators, into raging monsters.

Okoye must team up with a discredited genetic engineer (Naomie Harris) to secure an antidote in order to halt global catastrophe and save this fearsome creature that was once his friend.

Rampage is like a big bag of ready-salted potato crisps. It has next to no real nutritional value, it’s a comforting favourite, and you know that once you dig in, there’s no going back. This is the perfect kind of film to sit back, switch your brain off to, and shovel handfuls of popcorn or nachos into your mouth while you watch.

It’s big, monster-smashing fun, and it’s carried through by The Rock’s unique big guy, big heart charm … although, the loveable and funny George gives him a run for his money in that department.

Johnson is always a delight in his roles, bringing both seriousness and levity. He’s so aware of his own raw strength and size that it’s refreshing to see him portray someone intelligent and sensitive, especially as his preferred company is animals and not humans.

He has fantastic chemistry with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays Agent Russell, a self-proclaimed cowboy working for ‘the people’. These are both men who have seen some of the worst the world has to offer, and they understand that sometimes it takes you bending the rules to fix a problem.

Naomie Harris is wonderful as Dr Kate Caldwell. She is brilliant, hardened by her past, and she sees right through the blind male bravado that makes her two male compadres butt heads on occasion.

The three of them are troublemakers, bonded by their mutual respect for each other and apparently by a love of big explosions and loud gunfire.

If you don’t like exploding helicopters or buildings, this is not the movie for you, but I highly recommend you check it out anyway. All of the action and story has a bit of a B movie vibe to it, which makes it unapologetic in its ridiculousness. Every time you think you’ve seen something huge, or seen someone survive impossible odds, you’re proven wrong within about 10 minutes.

Malin Akerman makes an appearance as the sinister Claire Wyden, the money behind the research that transforms the animals into giant and ferocious beasts. She does a decent job of being the ice-cold villain, but the problem is she’s in a movie with class acts Johnson, Morgan, and Harris, any one of which could probably carry Rampage on their shoulders alone.

This is a big movie, in more ways than one. No one’s going to be nominating it for an Oscar anytime soon, but you know what, who cares? It’s really good entertainment, it’s funny, and it doesn’t ask its audience to do any work on its behalf.

Besides, it’s Dwayne Johnson. There can’t be anyone alive who doesn’t think this man is awesome.

Now showing in: Cineco, Seef II, Dana Cinemas, Wadi Al Sail, Mukta A2, Al Jazeera