In 1933 New York, an ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and ship crew to travel to the mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who falls in love with the leading lady. Wait a minute, no, that's not right, that's "King Kong." Scientists, soldiers, and adventurers unite to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean. Cut off from everything they know, they venture into the domain of the mighty Kong, setting off the ultimate battle between man and nature.
No, that doesn't sound right either. That's "Kong: Skull Island". Dwayne Johnson battles to save Chicago from a mutated giant gorilla, wolf, and alligator. Yeah, that's better.
Synopsis
Stop me if you've heard this before: A giant gorilla destroys a major city and only one person can stop it. The 1933 film "King Kong" was iconic if only in the fact that it spawned two reboots over 70 years later. I'm sure it had a profound effect on action films as well, but I wasn't around in 1933 to witness it. What I'm almost positive you haven't heard, though, is the new twist on the giant gorilla movie.
This time, the gorilla is an albino.
And it actually is a completely normal, regular sized gorilla, at least at first, anyway. The gorilla, whose name is George, is a friend of Davis Okoye, played by Dwayne Johnson. Davis works with the gorillas; he's the main primatologist for the Wildlife Preserve in San Diego. George, however, is extremely smart and can actually sign to Davis and vice versa.
Additionally, after an accident causes George to grow considerably bigger overnight and become very aggressive, we learn that not only George was affected. A wolf has grown to 30 feet tall and has porcupine spikes and wings. An alligator has grown exponentially and sprouted extra sharp teeth. These newly mutated and agitated animals are destroying most everything in sight.
No ordinary man could stop them. But Davis is anything but ordinary.
Cast
I love Dwayne Johnson. The man is a walking muscle, he's funny, a good actor, and he can sing (go watch "Moana" if you didn't know that). The former WWE wrestler has made a really nice career for himself. Here, he takes on yet another action film which is so obviously his forte. He makes it funny, though. He sprinkles one-liners and quips throughout that provide a good laugh and a distraction from the mind-blowing action happening in front of you. Not many people could take a movie about mutant animals destroying America and make the audience laugh out loud several times.
If you've ever seen "The Walking Dead," which I have (haven't seen any of season eight yet so no spoilers), then you know Jeffrey Dean Morgan can act.
He has such a sly, cunning sense of humor. So witty, I find myself partially rooting for him, even if he's the worlds worst villain. In "Rampage" he actually plays the good guy, but that same sarcastic, crafty humor follows him. He and Dwayne Johnson bounce off each other and it seems like they might be real life friends. Morgan plays a government agent tasked with cleaning up this mutated mess. His performance was so good that it's been almost two whole days since I saw it, and I'm still raving.
Conclusion
You walk into the movie theater to see the newest Dwayne Johnson flick. You see the reviews are decent, but nothing special. You sit down to watch the movie and two intense, riveting, action-packed hours later you're thoroughly impressed with what you've just seen.
You start to clap because that was one awesome film. The rest of the audience follows suit and the applause rings loud. Yeah, that was my exact experience.
I loved it, but what impresses me even more (because I'm not exactly a harsh movie critic) is the fact that everyone else clapped, too. I've seen approximately two or three films in my life that the audience applauded at the end, and this was one. It was gripping, funny, intense, epic, and deeper than you'd expect.
Here are three reasons why you should watch it. First, Dwayne Johnson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and even the gorilla are hilarious. Second, the story is more thought out than I initially gave it credit for, and it was devoid of any major plot holes.
Third, where else are you gonna see an all-out battle between a giant gorilla, a giant wolf who can fly, and an alligator the size of a jet? I'll wait, and while I'm waiting, I'm probably going to go watch it again.