We saw Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson joined by a huge gorilla on the Rampage poster this week, and we can now see both in action with the first trailer for the film. While it’s hard not to think this looks like pretty standard blockbuster fare, it would also be a strain to say it doesn’t look like a whole lot of good times, with appearances from a giant wolf, a giant crocodile and Smashing Pumpkins’ Bullet with Butterfly Wings. Nice.
Johnson reteams with San Andreas director Brad Peyton for the film, which is based on the classic 80s arcade smash-em-up and sees a failed genetic experiment turn ordinary animals into colossal, vicious beasts. Also starring are Oscar nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Malin Akerman (The Final Girls, Watchmen), Jake Lacy (HBO’s Girls), Joe Manganiello (True Blood) and The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan, plus P.J. Byrne (The Wolf of Wall Street), Marley Shelton (Solace) and Breanne Hill (San Andreas).
Synopsis:
Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape into a raging monster. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered alpha predators. As these newly created monsters tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.
Rampage opens April 20th, 2018.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)